UK Commission’s Employer Skills Survey 2011: Technical Report

IFF Research

Dr. Susannah Constable and Ken Manson Project Managers UK Commission for Employment and Skills

December 2012

# Table of Contents

1. **Introduction** .................................................................................................. 3

2. **The Core Survey** .......................................................................................... 5 2.1 Sampling ........................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Questionnaire design ....................................................................................... 10 2.3 Fieldwork ......................................................................................................... 14 2.4 Response rate .................................................................................................. 16 2.5 Data edits ......................................................................................................... 18 2.6 Coding .............................................................................................................. 18 2.7 Weighting and grossing up ............................................................................. 20 Core weights: ........................................................................................................ 20

3. **Investment in Training survey** .................................................................. 25 3.1 Sampling ......................................................................................................... 25 3.2 Quotas ............................................................................................................. 25 3.3 Data collection method ................................................................................... 26 3.4 Questionnaire .................................................................................................. 26 3.5 Fieldwork ......................................................................................................... 26 3.6 Weighting/grossing up ................................................................................... 27 3.7 Data modelling ................................................................................................ 28 3.8 Cost calculations ............................................................................................. 32 3.9 Calculating Investment time series data ....................................................... 34

4. **Skills equilibrium follow-up** ...................................................................... 36 4.1 Sampling and fieldwork .................................................................................. 36 4.2 Questionnaire design ....................................................................................... 37 4.3 Weighting/grossing up ................................................................................... 37

5. **Using the survey for analysis** ..................................................................... 39 5.1 Modelled data .................................................................................................. 46

Appendix A: Industry Coding ............................................................................. 48

Appendix B: Occupational Coding ...................................................................... 52

Appendix C: Quota targets, Drawn Sample and Achieved Interviews ............ 53 Appendix D: Response Rates by subgroup .................................................... 60 Appendix E: Sampling Error and Statistical Confidence.............................. 61 Appendix F: Questionnaire Harmonisation .................................................. 63 Appendix G: Briefing Notes / Core Questionnaire ....................................... 69 Appendix H: Edit specification .................................................................... 129 Appendix I: Investment in Training datasheets .......................................... 132 Appendix J: Skills Equilibrium follow-up questionnaire .............................. 135 Appendix K: Reassurance email .................................................................. 137 1 Introduction

Prior to 2010, each nation in the UK gathered their own labour market intelligence on employer skills needs and engagement with the skills system in their nation. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills inherited the responsibility for the National Employer Skills Survey in England in 2009 after the dissolution of the Learning and Skills Council. As the Commission’s focus is UK-wide, this presented the opportunity to align the data gathered by the four nations in one UK-wide skills survey suite.

The Employer Skills survey was reviewed in conjunction with the UK Commission’s other large employer survey, Employer Perspectives, to produce a pair of surveys that complemented each other, designed to run biennially in alternate years. The focus of the Employer Perspectives Survey is primarily outward looking, covering provision of and engagement with the wider skills system, whereas the Employer Skills Survey is primarily inward looking and takes a measure of the current skills position and skills needs of the employer.

Harmonising the data collection across the four nations has been a complex technical challenge. This document outlines how the need for a UK-wide dataset was balanced with the need for time series comparison for each individual nation.

The comparable surveys in each nation were as follows:

- England: National Employer Skills Survey series, the most recent of which was conducted in 2009;
- Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Skills Monitoring Survey series, most recently carried out in 2008;
- Scotland: Scottish Employer Skills Survey, most recently conducted in 2010;
- Wales: Future Skills Wales, most recently carried out in 2005.

The 2011 UK-wide survey had three stages:

- Core survey: the main skills survey, covering business strategy, retention, recruitment, skills gaps and high performance working;
- Investment in Training survey: covering the financial investment establishments make in training their staff; • Skills Equilibrium: covering whether trainers would have liked to have done more training, or whether they were satisfied with the amount of training completed.

This technical report covers each of these in turn.

The UK Commission has published a range of reports from the UK Employer Skills Survey 2011. These include:

• UK Results

• England Results

• Northern Ireland National Report

• Wales Results

• Scotland Results

This Technical Report concludes the first phase of reporting from the 2011 survey. In 2013, we intend to mine this rich data source further to draw out insights and cross-cutting themes from both this survey and its sister, the UK Commission’s Employer Perspectives Survey 2012.

Much of the data referred to in this report can be downloaded from our website in table format. If you cannot find the data you need, require access to a full survey dataset, or have further questions regarding any of our survey products, please contact employer.surveys@ukces.org.uk. 2 The Core Survey

For the Core survey, a total of 87,572 interviews were undertaken. This consisted of a core offering from the UK Commission, plus voluntary increases to the sample (boosts) in Northern Ireland and Wales. These boosts increased their sample size to be more in line with their previous surveys and allow an additional level of detail in analysis of results. Interviews were achieved by country as follows:

Table 2.1 Interviews achieved by country

| Country | Number of interviews | |----------------|----------------------| | England | 75,053 | | Northern Ireland | 4,004 | | Scotland | 2,503 | | Wales | 6,012 |

2.1 Sampling

Sampling Unit

The sampling unit was the establishment rather than the organisation, in recognition of the fact that it is at the site level that skill shortages are most acutely experienced and strategies to combat them pursued. This mirrors the establishment-based approach adopted for the legacy Skills Surveys in each of the four nations.

The individual approached was the ‘person at [the] site [with] most responsibility for staff issues such as training, recruitment or resourcing’. For smaller establishments this was most often the general manager or owner; for larger establishments this was most often the HR manager.

Survey scope / eligibility

All establishments in the UK with one or more people working at them excluding "one man bands" (where the only person working at the site also owns the organisation) were eligible for the survey. This approach allowed the maximum flexibility to allow time series comparisons in all nations. The precursor skills surveys in England and Wales – as well as the UK-wide Employer Perspectives Surveys – historically covered all establishments with 2+ employment, i.e. sites with at least two people working at them (regardless of their working status). Meanwhile, precursor surveys in Scotland and Northern Ireland covered all establishments with 1+ employees, i.e. sites with at least one member of staff in addition to any working proprietors.

None of these surveys have included the self-employed (with no employees), because of the absence of robust population figures for this group, and since this would necessitate a supplementary sample source (with a large proportion of the self-employed falling “below the radar” of both the IDBR and Experian's business database). The question approach / context for this group would also need to be different, since they are by definition not “employers”.

The diagram below summarises the survey eligibility associated with the “1+ employees” and “2+ employment” approaches. The percentages within each quadrant relate to the proportion of all establishments / employment that each population segment accounts for (according to the latest ONS IDBR estimates).

Table 2.2 Population segments

| 1+ Employees | 2+ Employment | Yes | No | |--------------|---------------|-----|----| | Yes | 1) All establishments with 2+ employees, or 1 working proprietor and 1 employee | EN: 63% / 96% | EN: 23% / 2% | | | | SC: 67% / 97% | SC: 19% / 1% | | | | NI: 62% / 95% | NI: 8% / 1% | | | | WL: 63% / 96% | WL: 15% / 1% | | | | UK: 63% / 96% | UK: 22% / 2% | | No | 2) Establishments with 1 employee and no working proprietors | EN: 5% / 1% | EN: 10% / 1% | | | | SC: 5% / 1% | SC: 10% / 1% | | | | NI: 7% / 1% | NI: 23% / 2% | | | | WL: 9% / 2% | WL: 13% / 1% | | | | UK: 5% / 1% | UK: 11% / 1% | England and Wales historically sampled from boxes 1 and 3; Northern Ireland and Scotland historically sampled from boxes 1 and 2. No previous survey sampled from box 4, and so neither did the current survey.

In order to allow the calculation of comparable data in each nation, the approach taken combined the two historical approaches, so all establishments that would have been included in the previous surveys were covered in the current survey. The current survey therefore sampled from boxes 1, 2 and 3.

**Setting quota targets**

Population statistics used to quantify and stratify the business population were established through the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) administered by the ONS, which holds records of all businesses registered for VAT and all businesses operating a pay as you earn (PAYE) income tax scheme. The IDBR is widely regarded as being the most accurate and comprehensive official source of population data available, and was used for sampling and weighting all previous editions of the skills surveys in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

**Geographic quotas**

The "core" allocation by country was 75,000 interviews for England, 2,500 for Scotland, 1,500 for Wales and 1,000 for Northern Ireland. Survey boosts were then commissioned for Wales and Northern Ireland, bringing their sample sizes up to 6,000 interviews and 4,000 interviews respectively.

Within England, half the interviews were divided evenly across the 9 old Government Office Regions, and then the remaining half in proportion to the number of business units that each region accounts for. This ensured a minimum number of interviews were achieved in each English region, whilst still apportioning more interviews to the regions that were larger in terms of business population.

In addition, within England, non-interlocking targets were set by local education authority (LEA).

Similarly, within Wales and Northern Ireland, non-interlocking targets were set by Broad Region. In Wales this followed the four region groupings of North, Mid, South East and South West; in Northern Ireland the definitions for region were taken from the old Workforce Development Forum (WDF) regional definitions.

**Broad Sector Quotas** Sectorally, UKCESS 2011 marked a shift in emphasis away from analysis focused on Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) used in previous incarnations of the Employer Skills Survey in individual nations, and towards sectoral analysis that focused in the first instance on the 14 broad industry sectors. SIC definitions for these sectors can be found in Appendix A of this report.

As such, half of the interviews within each country and each English region were divided equally across the 14 broad sectors, and the remaining half in proportion to the number of business units each Broad Sector accounts for. In this way, this raised the number of interviews achieved in the smaller broad sectors compared to their allocation through a purely representative approach, thereby enhancing the confidence with which findings could be reported.

Adopting such an approach ensured that the Maximum Standard Error associated with findings disaggregated by broad sector would be no greater than ±2% (UK-wide, at the 95% confidence level). Critically, this also ensured that, within broad sector, key cuts of the data – such as the nature of skill gaps relating to individual occupations, or the causes and implications of specific types of skill-shortage vacancy – were associated with sufficiently robust base sizes.

In the case of some sectors, for example Mining and Quarrying, using this approach produced a target which was higher than the number of interviews realistically achievable from the amount of sample available for that sector. Where this occurred targets were “pegged back” to approximately an eighth of the available sample, and the extra interviews redistributed across the remaining sectors. The analysis possible for these small sectors is therefore commensurately less detailed.

**Sizeband Quotas**

Interview targets were distributed by size within each region by distributing interviews in each Broad Sector between seven sizebands. The approach here was to distribute within sizeband proportionate to the overall employment accounted for by employers of that size, with target ratios set at no more than 1 in 4 of the population universe in any cell.

**Sample sources** In line with previous Skills Surveys in each of the four home nations, Experian’s Business Database was used as the core sample source. This is regarded as the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of establishment-based data that is commercially available with telephone numbers. Even so, 12 per cent of the sample records drawn proved to be out-of-scope for the survey when contacted, either through being misclassified to begin with or their situation having changed between the sample being drawn and the call being made.

Reflecting the Experian database’s origin as a business database, however, there are certain pockets in which Experian consistently under-represents the business population, most notably in the Public Administration & Defence and Energy & Utilities sectors. In light of this, an application was submitted to ONS’ Micro Data Release Panel to obtain details of all the records they hold in this broad industry sector.

Since these IDBR records did not include telephone numbers, these instead had to be looked up manually.

Sample was ordered on an average ratio of 7:1 against interviews required. Due to the availability of sample this varied between quota cells from 2:1 (Financial Services in the East of England) to 16:1 (Mining and Quarrying in East Midlands). The ratio was chosen to maximise response in the fieldwork period allocated to the survey; any smaller ratio would have required a longer fieldwork period to achieve the necessary response. In total 595,490 records were ordered from Experian, and 6,033 from IDBR.

Before being distributed to fieldwork contractors, all sample was postcode-validated to ensure that the geographical region had been correctly defined.

Checks were also undertaken in instances where duplicate telephone numbers existed within the sample. In certain sectors, for example retail and finance, it is common for a number of establishments to appear under the same centralised telephone number. By signalling on the sample that the telephone number given is a centralised switchboard, this made interviewers aware of the fact before they attempted to get an interview with specific branches. In terms of the sectoral markers Experian append, there are a small number of known sectors for which misclassification commonly arise. For example, the Yellow Pages classification “Nursing Homes” is always translated to SIC07 code 86.1 (which includes “Medical nursing home activities”), whilst nursing homes are in fact more likely to be residential than medically-focused, in which case they actually fall into SIC07 87.1. As such, procedures were established to correct such systematic misclassifications before fieldwork was undertaken, in order to reduce the proportion of employers who disagreed with the classification of their business when fieldwork contractors attempted to verify this at the outset of the interview.

2.2 Questionnaire design

The questionnaire design harmonised previous questionnaires used by the four nations of the UK in their own skills surveys. This included the National Employer Skills Survey series in England, and in the devolved administrations the Scottish Employer Skills Surveys, the Northern Ireland Skills Monitoring Surveys and Future Skills Wales.

A task group within the main survey steering group, chaired and led by the UK Commission, and comprising IFF Research and government officials from each of the four UK nations, was set up to drive this process.

The group’s aim was to develop a questionnaire that answered the Employer Skills Survey objectives, whilst maintaining time series data for each nation as far as was feasible in the framework of the ESS. This needed to be achieved in a questionnaire that would take no longer than 25 minutes on average to administer via telephone, to keep the burden on employers to a minimum and to maintain a healthy response rate. This was achieved in three stages:

1. An initial questionnaire was developed as part of the piloting of the Employer Perspectives Survey in 2010, so as to ensure the two surveys complemented each other without overlap. This was piloted alongside the EPS survey.

2. Further development to the questionnaire followed this initial pilot, and a second pilot covering all nations was held in February 2011 consisting of 100 interviews.

3. Cognitive testing was carried out with ten respondents from the second pilot to review in depth whether the new questions on the survey were understood and were gathering the required information. The initial pilot identified that the survey length was on average 30 minutes: a full five minutes longer than the target length. In order to achieve this length and still cover all the areas required to be covered a few key decisions needed to be taken. The first was to remove the section on upskilling staff, which had been covered in England’s 2009 Skills Survey and had been earmarked to appear in the 2011 survey too. The decision was taken that this section would appear in alternate ESS surveys, alternating with the retention section which would appear in 2011.

The February 2011 pilot identified that the survey length was still too long, at an average of 28 minutes. Therefore the second key decision on length was to “modularise” some of the questions, that is, to split some questions into two discrete modules, and ask them only to half of the establishments contacted. This was possible due to the large number of interviews overall, but to maintain the level of regional and sectoral breakdown possible in the non-modular sections, the questions added to both modules were selected to be ones that did not filter at all. They were also selected to be only establishment-based rather than employment-based; that is, they asked about numbers of establishments rather than numbers of employees. This simplified weighting these questions (see section 2.7 for more detail on weighting).

Establishments in the sample outside of Scotland were randomly allocated to one of two modules, and questions were directed as follows:

**Module 1:** The High Performance Working questions were asked of establishments in Module 1 only:

D4 And does your establishment have any of the following pay and incentive schemes for your employees?

F2 Approximately what proportion of your staff have a formal written job description?

F3 And approximately what proportion of your staff have an annual performance review?

G1 Does your establishment...

o Give employees information about the financial position of the establishment

o IF A1>9 Create teams of people, who don’t usually work together, to work on a specific project IF A1>9 Have teams of people that solve specific problems or discuss aspects of work performance? These are sometimes known as “problem solving groups” or “continuous improvement groups”

- Have an equal opportunities policy
- Have formal procedures in place for employee consultation (such as a staff association, employee forum or trade union consultation)
- Currently hold any of the ISO 9000 Standards

G2 Do you have processes in place to allow you to identify “high potential” or talented individuals within your establishment?

G3 Is there a formal procedure for dealing with discipline and dismissals (other than redundancies) for non-managerial employees?

G4 Which of the following methods do you use to communicate or share information in this workplace?

G5 To what extent would you say employees at your establishment…

- Have variety in their work
- Have discretion over how they do their work
- Have access to flexible working

Module 2: The following questions were asked of establishments in Module 2 only:

B1 Compared to 12 months ago, has the number of people employed at this establishment remained about the same, increased or decreased?

H1E On a scale of 1 to 5, where would you place this establishment if one indicates that, compared to others in your industry, your IT systems and/or networks are well behind recent technological developments, and a score of five that, compared to others in your industry, you are state of the art.

H1F On a scale of 1 to 5, where would you place this establishment if one indicates that the way you produce or deliver your products or services is not automated at all, and a score of five that they are highly automated. Due to the smaller sample size in Scotland compared to the other nations, the decision was taken not to split the establishments into modules in this nation. All establishments in Scotland were therefore asked the questions outlined above. Instead, to control interview length, the employers in Scotland were not asked about retention (questions B3 to B6). This was not an area that had been covered in the past Scottish Employer Skills Surveys.

Cognitive interviewing was carried out with 10 respondents from a range of countries, sizebands and sectors who agreed to a follow-up phonecall. Areas covered in the cognitive questionnaire were selected for the following reasons:

- they were new untested questions where understanding needed to be tested;
- they had prompted questions from previous surveys as to how they were understood;
- they were questions that differed between countries pre-harmonisation and the effect of this needed examining.

The cognitive interviewing confirmed that questionnaire changes were working and were being understood correctly by respondents; there were few cases where confusion was identified and explanatory wording was consequently added to these questions.

Question D15 (underemployment) was an entirely new question for the 2011 survey and had not been asked in any previous skills survey. It was asked in two different ways in the pilot survey, and cognitive interviewing advised the best option for the survey and also was able to identify an area of confusion that was cleared up in subsequent question wording (whether the skills and qualifications needed to be relevant to that job role).

One question was deleted as a result of the cognitive interviewing: a question asking the respondent to judge whether their workforce was “highly skilled”. Employers generally used level of qualifications held OR how well staff do their job to rate this question. However both of these pieces of information are captured elsewhere in the questionnaire (under proficiency and qualifications held), suggesting the question did not add anything new to the survey. Cognitive interviewing also confirmed that the changes to the prompts in the occupational classifications were allowing respondents to code occupations into the correct grouping. The questionnaire provided reassurances to respondents who needed them on the confidentiality of the data they were providing and the legitimacy of the survey. Additionally, questions were included at the end covering permission to call the respondent back for clarification on the UKCESS survey and for permission to call them for future follow-up surveys on related issues. There was also a specific question for trainers asking if they’d be willing to take part in the Investment in Training survey. Finally, a question asking permission for researchers authorised by the Office of National Statistics to link their data with other datasets and surveys to enable further statistical analysis.

Further information on questionnaire harmonisation and the comparability of the key measures can be found in Appendix F.

The full final questionnaire with interviewer briefing notes is presented in Appendix G.

To ensure consistency one member of the IFF team was involved in checking the CATI scripts set up by all three agencies.

Finally, the questionnaire was translated into Welsh by a professional translation agency based in Wales.

2.3 Fieldwork

Establishments were not pre-notified that they would be called for the survey, partly due to financial considerations (the cost of writing to over 600,000 establishments being prohibitive) and partly because it was felt that would be likely to reduce response rates in the survey, as head offices may have chosen to opt out all of the establishments in their operation.

A total of 87,572 interviews were conducted by telephone using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) technology. Fieldwork across the regions was undertaken by three research agencies, as follows:

| Agency | Regions | Number of interviews | |--------|--------------------------|----------------------| | BMG | South West | 8,458 | | | West Midlands | 7,975 | | | Yorkshire and Humberside | 7,600 | To ensure consistency between agencies, one comprehensive set of interviewer briefing notes was created for use by all (see Appendix G), and a member of the IFF team attended the briefing at all three agencies. Each briefing lasted around 90 minutes and included all of the interviewers that were due to work on the survey. Answers to any questions raised were shared with all three interviewing teams. Quality assurance on the interviewing was carried out by IFF as the lead contractor at all three fieldwork agencies.

Interviews were conducted with the most senior person at the site with responsibility for recruitment, human resources and workplace skills. Respondents were reassured of the confidentiality of their data when they agreed to take part in the interview. If after the first contact the respondent or gatekeeper wanted more information about the survey a reassurance email was sent; this can be seen in Appendix K.

Fieldwork took place from March to July 2011. Weekly progress updates and feedback ensured the quotas progressed evenly between the three agencies running the fieldwork mitigating the possibility of unforeseen events affecting surveys results unevenly. Interim data runs were also provided from all agencies to IFF as lead contractor twice during fieldwork, which was checked to ensure consistency between the three.

Establishments in Wales were given the option to complete their interviews in Welsh or English. In total 108 interviews were completed in Welsh. 2.4 Response rate

The overall response rate for the survey was 39%, calculated as “achieved interviews” as a proportion of all “complete contacts”. A detailed breakdown of survey outcomes is shown below:

Table 2.4 Sample outcomes and response rate

| Outcome | Number of contacts | % of all sample | % of complete contacts | |------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------|-----------------|------------------------| | **Total sample** | 594,120 | 100% | | | Ineligible establishments (e.g. just 1 working proprietor at site) | 72,310 | 12% | | | ‘Live’ / not available during fieldwork / Out of quota | 215,639 | 36% | | | Unobtainable / invalid numbers | 82,129 | 14% | | | **Total complete contacts** | 224,042 | 38% | 100% | | Achieved interviews | 87,572 | 15% | 39% | | Respondent refusal | 107,208 | 18% | 48% | | Quits during interview | 7,033 | 1% | 3% | | Company policy refusal | 22,229 | 4% | 10% |

In some instances Head Offices of large corporations contacted the contractors and the UK Commission to ask that their branches were not called in relation to the survey. Where this happened, the UK Commission provided reassurance and emphasised the importance of the survey. On a few occasions it was agreed that only some establishments in that organisation would be contacted in order to reduce the burden on the organisation as a whole, but on some large organisations requested their establishments were removed from the sample completely. This was done for five organisations in total.

In common with other business surveys, it was particularly difficult to achieve interviews in the smaller sized establishments. Sectors that presented difficulties were predominantly the Construction or Agriculture sectors, establishments in which are typically site/outdoor based rather than carried out near a telephone. To attempt to mitigate the effect of this, contractors called these establishments outside of normal business hours (before 9am and after 5pm) to try to gather responses from these establishments. As the survey neared the end of the fieldwork period it was also necessary to adjust some of the quota targets in order to meet the necessary number of interviews, as some quotas proved not possible to fill with the given sample. Appendix C shows the drawn sample ratios; in instances where this is lower than 8:1 this is because the required volume of sample was simply not available from the sources used. It is in these quotas, due to a lower starting volume of sample, that most issues filling quotas arose. Appendix C also shows the areas where it was not possible to hit the original quota targets in the given fieldwork period.

Appendix D shows how the achieved response rate differed by country, size and sector.

During fieldwork, when it became evident that a target quota within a particular cell had become unachievable (i.e. when the target is more than 100% of the remaining sample), targets needed to be increased in other cells to compensate. The following guidelines were issued to contractors to ensure a consistent approach, and IFF as lead contractor monitored the changes to ensure the cumulative effect of these did not detract from the overall picture.

- In the first instance contractors looked to increase the target within the same SIC sector in an adjacent size band.
- If adjacent size bands had also become unachievable then any remaining achievable size bands within the SIC sector were used to compensate.
- In some cases it was preferable to compensate within the sizeband but across SIC Sector, most commonly for cells in the larger size bands, or where an assessment of progress against overall size targets for the locality indicates a need to boost interviews in the particular sizeband.
- If compensating within sizeband but across SIC Sector was deemed preferable or if all sizebands within a SIC Sector had become unachievable, then targets should be adjusted where possible according to a “neighbouring” SIC Sector, as per Table 2.5. Table 2.5 Sector groupings for quota management

| Sector Grouping | SIC Code | |------------------------------------------------------|----------------| | Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing | SIC 01 to 03 | | Mining and quarrying | SIC 05 to 09 | | Manufacturing | SIC 10 to 33 | | Electricity, gas and water supply | SIC 35 to 39 | | Construction | SIC 41 to 43 | | Wholesale and retail trade | SIC 45 to 47 | | Hotels and restaurants | SIC 55 to 56 | | Transport, storage and communications | SIC 49 to 53 & 58 to 63 | | Financial services | SIC 64 to 66 | | Real estate, renting and business activities | SIC 68 to 82 | | Public admin. and defence; compulsory social security| SIC 84 | | Education | SIC 85 | | Health and social work | SIC 86 to 88 | | Community, social and personal service activities | SIC 90 to 96 |

2.5 Data edits

The survey questionnaire involved some complex data that respondents may struggle to answer. There is also, despite stringent quality control, the chance that interviewers could enter typing errors, for example an extra zero on the end of a numerical variable.

Data checks were built into the CATI script to ensure that questions on number of employees equalled the number of people working at the site, and that the number of staff not proficient in each job role could not exceed the number of staff they had in each job role (a full list of CATI data checks is in the questionnaire in Appendix G). However some data validation needed to occur after fieldwork had finished to ensure no errors were present in the final data. Guidelines were issued to all fieldwork contractors on how to edit data to ensure consistency; these guidelines can be seen in Appendix H.

2.6 Coding

Open ended responses to the survey were coded by each contractor’s coding teams. To ensure consistency the codeframes were developed in unison, with codeframes regularly compared and reviewed. As lead contractor IFF Research took the final decisions as to what codes to use after considering advice and output from the IFF, BMG and Ipsos MORI coding teams.

Standard Industrial Classifications (SIC) were coded using 2007 standards (the most up to date at the time of the survey), and Standard Occupational Classifications were coded using 2010 standards (also the most up to date available). 2.7 Weighting and grossing up

Data for the survey was weighted and grossed up to population estimates of establishments and to the population of employees, as derived from the 2010 Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR).

Due to the multiple uses the data was intended for, a number of different weighting options were produced. It was necessary to produce weights for each of the following situations:

- Core weights, used to weight the UK-wide dataset and used for the majority of analysis. This weighting set is the default to use.
- Modular weights, to be used when analysing data from the modular questions (see section 2.2 of this chapter).
- Local weights for use analysing England data by LEA and LEP.
- Legacy weights for each nation, designed to match the population and weighting strategies adopted by each nations’ legacy surveys. There was also a legacy LEA weight produced for the England data.

Most weights were created in pairs: a “unit-based” weight and an “employment-based” weight. The unit-based weight was designed for analysis by number or proportion of establishments; the employment-based weight was designed for use when analysing by number or proportion of employees (including volume measures of vacancies, skills gaps and numbers trained). Data dictionary files have been created listing each variable with notes and guidance on the correct weight to use.

A full list of weights used on the survey and the detailed description of when and how to use each is included in Chapter 5 of this report.

Core weights:

The core weights are the default, to be used for most sets of analysis. These were the weights used in the UK report (UK Commission Evidence Report 45).

The following grossing-up strategy was used for the UK-wide dataset.

- Within each English Region and Devolved Administration, grossing-up weights were applied on a 14 broad SIC sector and eight sizeband grid (i.e. 112 cells within each of the 12 geographical areas), based on March 2010 IDBR population counts. The sizebands used were as follows: 1-2, 3-4, 5-9, 10-24, 25-49, 50-99, 100-249, 250+. • The sizebands are employment-based, with the “one employee, no working proprietors” group included in the 1-2 sizeband to create a group containing those with “1-2, excluding sole proprietors” – referred to as “1-2” throughout.

• Overlaying these grids, “rim” weights were imposed for LEA area within England, WDF area in Northern Ireland and Broad Region in Wales (to ensure the survey population of each matches the true population, though without further correction for size and sector at this level). “Rim” stands for “Random Iterative Method”; the weights were calculated by the data processing software which uses this method to find a “best fit” between the data and the targets that have been programmed.

• Cell merging was applied in instances where, within a region or Devolved Administration, no interviews had been conducted in cells where the IDBR indicates that establishments exist, and conversely ones where interviews have been carried out in cells with a reported “zero population” according to the IDBR. Cell merging was also conducted in instances where a low number of interviews had been conducted in relation to the population of that cell, which would result in high relative weights being applied to these establishments (i.e. where the weighting value before grossing up to the population was five or more). In each of these instances, cells were merged either within broad SIC sector (i.e. merging sizebands) or across industries (i.e. merging different sectors within a sizeband). For the core weights this was rarely necessary, with only the smallest sizebands in three sectors in Scotland requiring this merging.

Modular Weighting Strategy

As discussed above, some question areas in the survey were only asked to half of the survey respondents in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, to allow wider coverage of subject matter on the questionnaire. These are known as “modular questions”. Respondents from England, Northern Ireland and Wales were randomly allocated to one of two modules (Scottish respondents were asked all of the questions below, but not those on retention):

| Module 1: | not asked B1, H1E, H1F | |-----------|------------------------| | Module 2: | not asked HPW questions D4, F2, F3, G1-5 | As they were randomly allocated, the population characteristics of the two groups were very similar, as were the response to key questions (incidence of vacancies, skill-shortage vacancies, skills gaps etc.). This similarity means that the weighting applied to the whole file would in principle be suitable for the modular data, in that the resulting percentages are “correct” for the population within each modularised nation. However, because Scotland did not take the modular approach, Scottish establishments are over-represented in the final data for these questions and a separate weight is required to correct for that. Furthermore, if any weighted counts of establishments are required, the modular data with the main weight will produce a figure which is approximately half of the total number in the population in England, NI and Wales, since only half of the sample was asked the question.

A further weight was therefore produced for the modularised data, grossing up the employers within each modular set to the full population. This was done by simply multiplying their current weight by the factor required to take the weighted figure in each modular set up to that of the full population. This weight sits in the main file, and variables to which it applies are clearly marked with the prefix “M\_”.

All modularised questions dealt only with establishment level measures, meaning that there was no need to create a module weight for employment.

**LEA ‘Local’ Weighting Strategy**

To allow for analysis in England by LEA and increase the accuracy of analysis by LEP, a separate set of weights was produced to take into account the size and sector balance within each LEA. The targets were set on the 14 SIC sectors by four sizebands: 1-4, 5-24, 25-99, 100+. Separate unit and employment weights were created. These weights are in a separate SPSS file to the main file, and this LEA file should be used when carrying out any analysis by LEA or LEP.

**Legacy Weighting Strategy**

As discussed above in the “Sampling” section of this chapter, the 2011 UKCESS survey takes a different sampling strategy to that used in any of the previous nations’ skills surveys. This was to encompass all of the previous populations used and allow the data to be cut in such a way that by excluding the respondents that were not covered in their previous surveys all nations could have comparable time series data.

This section gives an overview of how this was achieved in each nation. **England**

The precursor survey was the National Employer Skills Survey for England 2009 (NESS09). NESS09 was weighted using interlocking grids of SSC by sizeband in each region of England. Target weights were used to gross up the survey data to the population.

The original NESS09 survey used 2009 SSC footprints defined by SIC 2003. However, a process of relicensing the SSCs changed the industrial sectors each was responsible for. Therefore in 2010 the survey was reweighted to take into account the post-relicensing SSC footprints, using SIC 2007 definitions. The legacy weighting of ESS2011 for England replicates this NESS09 reweight, and uses definitions of SSC based on SIC 2007:

- Population: 2+ employment (2011 records with 1 employee 0 working proprietors were not in the NESS09 survey, so were excluded from the legacy analysis)
- Strategy: Size by SSC within region – size bandings matched to NESS09.
- Separate weights were calculated for unit and employment measures as per NESS09.

A further set of weights were compiled for LEA data, using the same population principles as for the England legacy weighting but otherwise applying the same methodology as for the Local weights outlined above. This provided data comparable with the local estimates used in 2009.

**Northern Ireland**

The precursor survey was the Northern Ireland Skills Monitoring Survey 2008 (NISMS 2008). NISMS 2008 was weighted using interlocking grids of SSC by sizeband in each Workforce Development Forum (WDF) region of Northern Ireland. Target weights were used to gross up the survey data to the population.

NISMS used SIC 2003 and the 2008 SSC footprints. The legacy weighting for NI cannot replicate this exactly as SIC 2007 was used for ESS2011. Instead, the legacy weighting for NI in 2011 uses 2011 SSC definitions using SIC 2007.

- Population: 1+ employee (2011 records with 0 employees on site were not in the NISMS08 survey, so were excluded from the legacy analysis)
- Strategy: Size by SSC within WDF region – size bandings matched NISMS08.

Separate weights were calculated for unit and employment measures as per NISMS08.

**Scotland** The precursor survey was the Scottish Employer Skills Survey 2010 (SESS10). SESS10 was weighted using interlocking grids of SSC by sizeband in each Enterprise region of Scotland. Target weights were used to gross up the survey data to the population. SESS10 used SIC 2007 to 2010 SSC footprint definitions; the 2011 legacy analysis was therefore able to replicate that exactly.

In SESS10 separate unit and employment weights were not used, as the preference was for a single weight strategy. Using a single weight to reliably represent both units and employment requires a large sample size, as there are tensions in attempting to make a single weight hit both unit and employment targets. A single weight strategy was investigated for the legacy analysis in ESS 2011 but the 2,503 interviews achieved in Scotland did not give a large enough sample size to reliably do this, therefore the approach adopted was to run the employment weight separately:

- Population: 1+ employee (2011 records with 0 employees on site were not in the SESS10 survey, so were excluded from the legacy analysis)
- Strategy: Size by SSC within Enterprise region – size bandings matched SESS10.
- Separate weights were calculated for unit and employment measures. This is contrary to SESS10 where a single weight was able to account for both unit and employment measures.

Wales

The precursor survey was Future Skills Wales 2005 (FSW05). FSW05 was weighted using interlocking grids of SSC by sizeband in Wales. Target weights were used to gross up the survey data to the population.

FSW used SIC 2003 and the 2005 SSC footprints. The legacy weighting for Wales cannot replicate this exactly, as SIC 2003 definitions were not used and the SSC footprints have changed. Instead, the legacy weighting for Wales uses 2011 SSC definitions for comparison. This still offers comparable data, but at an individual SSC level this will not be the case if the footprint changed a lot during relicensing.

- Population: 2+ employment (2011 records with 1 employee 0 working proprietors were not in the FSW05 survey, so were excluded from the legacy analysis)
- Strategy: Size by SSC – size bandings matched FSW.
- One weight was used for unit and employment measures, as per FSW05. 3 Investment in Training survey

A separate Investment in Training study was conducted by IFF Research to provide detailed estimates of employer expenditure on training. The approach replicated that of previous Cost of Training studies in England and Northern Ireland. The process required to achieve the final training spend figures involved multiple steps, as demonstrated in Figure 3.1. Once the survey data was collected, modelling calculations were conducted to “fill in” missing data and calculations combined figures to create 12 “cost components”. These then combined to give overall training spend. In order to view time series data GDP deflators were then applied to account for inflation.

Figure 3.1 Summary of the Investment in Training data process

3.1 Sampling

Sample for the Investment in Training survey comprised respondents to the Core survey who indicated that they had provided training for employees and/or staff over the last 12 months and who indicated that they were happy to be re-contacted.

The sample was collected from Core survey fieldwork contractors in three batches during fieldwork, after each 4-5 week period of interviewing.

3.2 Quotas

The quota targets used an interlocked grid of size by training activity (off-the-job only, on-the-job only and both) within region / country, with an additional (non-interlocking) sector target for each nation. 3.3 Data collection method

Employers were sent a datasheet to complete before then collecting their answers by telephone. Attempts were made to call all respondents before sending them the datasheet. This involved a short conversation thanking them for taking part in the Core UKCESS interview, reminding them that they indicated being happy to take part in a short follow-up, introducing the idea of sending the datasheet, persuading / encouraging them if necessary to take part and checking their contact details. If after four attempts it was not possible to speak to the named person, then a datasheet was sent ‘blind’ using the e-mail or fax recorded during the Core UKCESS interview.

3.4 Questionnaire

Given the need to closely replicate the Investment in Training studies undertaken in England in 2005, 2007 and 2009 and in Northern Ireland in 2008, the datasheet questionnaire was unchanged compared to that used for these previous surveys.

3.5 Fieldwork

Employers who had indicated agreement to take part were called by an IFF interviewer to confirm participation and contact details. They were then sent a datasheet via email or fax containing the questions that were to be asked in the full interview (a copy of which can be seen in Appendix I). Sending this datasheet in advance allowed the respondent time to collect the relevant information and increase the accuracy of responses. A few days after sending, an interviewer called back to conduct the full interview.

In total, information on training expenditure was collected from 11,595 establishments at UK level, though 478 were rejected because of incompleteness (a large number of ‘don’t know’); hence analysis is based on data from 11,117 establishments.

Fieldwork was undertaken by IFF Research from 16th May to 29th July 2011.

The overall response rate for the survey was 75%, calculated as “achieved interviews” as a proportion of all “complete contacts”. Response rates were higher than the core survey as respondents were already engaged in the research and had agreed to a follow up survey. A detailed breakdown of survey outcomes is shown in Table 3.1: Table 3.1 Sample outcomes and response rate

| Outcome | Number of contacts | % of all sample | % of complete contacts | |-------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------|-----------------|------------------------| | **Total sample** | 39,305 | 100% | | | Ineligible establishments (e.g. just 1 working proprietor at site) | 44 | * | | | ‘Live’ / not available during fieldwork / Out of quota | 22,961 | 58% | | | Unobtainable / invalid numbers | 809 | 2% | | | **Total complete contacts** | 15,491 | 39% | 100% | | Achieved interviews | 11,597 | 30% | 75% | | Respondent refusal | 498 | 1% | 3% | | Quits during interview | 3,396 | 9% | 22% |

The large number of sample records in “Live / not available during fieldwork / out of quota” is due to the ratio of sample to achieved interviews being much higher than that needed given the final response rate; in other words, a large amount of the sample remained after the quotas had been filled.

Response rates by country are shown in Table 3.2.

Table 3.2 Response rate by country

| | UK | England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales | |------------------|-------|---------|------------------|----------|-------| | Interviews | 11,117| 7,929 | 1,002 | 685 | 1,501 | | Response rate | 75% | 76% | 73% | 75% | 69% |

3.6 Weighting/grossing up

In order to weight the Investment in Training study, population figures were calculated from weighted UKCESS core survey data which had in turn been weighted using the IDBR figures used for the main survey analysis. Data was weighted on the basis of interlocking grids on six size bands (1-2, 3-4, 5-9, 10-24, 25-99, 100+) by the 14 broad SIC sectors used in the core survey, by the type of training they carried out (on-the-job only, off-the-job only, or both). A regional rim weight was also applied using targets based on the proportion training in the English regions, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Only establishment-based weights were created for the Investment in Training survey, as all data in the survey is establishment orientated. For England, a legacy weight was calculated to give data comparable to the 2005 to 2009 Cost of Training survey series. This was completed on the same basis as the main weighting, but using the comparable population definition of 2+ employment (i.e. responses from establishments with 1 employee / 0 working proprietors were excluded).

3.7 Data modelling

In order to calculate overall training expenditure, each record in the dataset needed to have a response to each question (even if the value was zero in relation to a type of training the establishment does not supply). As expected, not every respondent was able to supply every piece of information. In order to ‘fill in’ the missing data, averages were drawn from those respondents who were able to answer each question and applied to those cases with missing data.

Matching the approach taken in the Cost of Training Survey in England in 2009, when a respondent could not provide an exact (integer) answer the survey was set up to prompt respondents to give a range answer (‘between £500 and £999’ and so forth). Although this range answer still needs transferring into an exact figure within the range, it guides and greatly improves the accuracy and reliability of the modelling process (for example compared with Learning and Training at Work (LTW) 2000, where this prompting did not occur) since the modelling for these range responses is based on those respondents who gave an exact answer which fell into that range rather than simply being an average of all responses.

The modelling process for those questions not relating to salaries was to calculate mean responses for those giving an exact answer (excluding zero) within each of the ranges, and an overall mean. These means were calculated within five employment size bands, which differed slightly from the standard size bands used for analysis within this report, in that five to 24 band was split into five to nine and 10 to 24, and all 100 plus employment sites were included in one band. Where a respondent gave a range answer, they were assigned the mean for the establishments within their size band giving an exact answer falling within their range response. Where they were unable to give either an exact or a range answer, they were assigned the overall mean for the question within their size band.

______________________________________________________________________

1 Different size groupings are used in the Investment in Training survey due to the smaller sample size; using fewer bandings gives a larger sample within each sizeband. For salaries, a slightly different approach was taken to modelling ‘don’t know’ answers, again based on that used in the previous Cost of Training Surveys in England in 2005, 2007 and 2009, in Northern Ireland in 2008 and in LTW 2000. Initially, as above, range and overall means were calculated. Rather than size of establishment, location of establishment (London or non-London) was seen to be the major determinant of salary levels; so means were split on this basis rather than by the size bands used for other ‘don’t know’ answers. Where a range had been given, the appropriate mean was used as the simulated value.

For those respondents unable to give even a salary range, a method was used which takes account of not only their location but also evidence from other salary questions on the datasheet in order to determine whether they pay salaries above or below the average and to what degree. Where exact answers had been given for other salary questions, a ratio was calculated between their actual answer and the London/non-London mean (as appropriate) for that question. This gave, for each exact salary answer recorded, a ratio that expressed the degree to which that employer over-paid or under-paid employees in the roles discussed, compared with the mean. Where salary answers were missing (and no range information was provided) the assigned value would be calculated as the London or non-London mean multiplied by the first available of these ratios (the order of selection being different for each question and dependent on which questions were adjudged to be the most closely related) in order to up-weight or down-weight the estimate in keeping with their pay for other roles.

The simulation procedure and the precise order of selection used for salary questions is shown in the table below, along with the proportion modelled using range information and the proportion modelled that did not provide range information. Table 3.3 Treatment of missing values

| Question | Value given to missing data | Base | % modelled within range | % modelled without range | |----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------|-------------------------|--------------------------| | Q1 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 8,302| 1 | 0.1 | | Q2 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 7,930| 5 | 0.9 | | Q3 | Mean calculated within London/non-London establishments within recorded ranges where available. Where range information not provided:

1. if Q17 answered (and an exact answer given), calculate proportion above or below the Q17 average for the establishment and up-lift or reduce the appropriate Q3 mean (London or non-London) by this proportion to generate Q3 figure for this establishment
2. if Q17 not answered with an exact value apply procedure at 1. to Q21
3. if Q21 not answered with an exact value, apply procedure at 1. to Q24
4. if Q24 not answered with an exact value apply procedure at 1. to Q10
5. if Q10 not answered with an exact value use appropriate Q3 mean (London or non-London) unadjusted | 7,930| 29 | - | | Q4 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 7,930| 16 | 9 | | Q6A | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 616 | 21 | 36 | | Q6B | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 616 | 15 | 20 | | Q7A | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 2,805| >0.1 | 0.1 | | Q8 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 7,930| 0.4 | 0.3 | | Q9 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (range information not recorded for this question) | 7,148| - | 5 |

continued…

### Treatment of missing values (continued)

| Question | Value given to missing data | Base | % modelled within range | % modelled without range | |----------|-----------------------------|------|-------------------------|--------------------------| | Q10 | Same procedure as Q3 but different order of selection: Q24, Q3, Q17, Q21 | 7,148 | 21 | 11 | | Q11 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 7,930 | 13 | 7 | | Q12 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 7,930 | 16 | 5 | | Q13 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 7,930 | 4 | 9 | | Q14 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 7,930 | 4 | 9 | | Q15 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 8,302 | 0.9 | 0.6 | | Q16 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 5,670 | 3 | 2 | | Q17 | Same procedure as Q3 but different order of selection: Q3, Q21, Q24, Q10 | 5,670 | 20 | 7 | | Q18 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 5,670 | 13 | 14 | | Q19 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 9,367 | 2 | 0.8 | | Q20 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 8,693 | 9 | 2 | | Q21 | Same procedure as Q3 but different order of selection: Q3, Q17, Q24, Q10 | 8,693 | 26 | 6 | | Q22 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 8,693 | 2 | 0.9 | | Q23 | Mean within 5 employment size bands (within recorded range where available) | 8,124 | 8 | 2 | | Q24 | Same procedure as Q3 but different order of selection: Q10, Q3, Q17, Q21 | 8,124 | 22 | 8 |

"Base" = Total number of respondents eligible to respond to each question

"% modelled within range" = percentage of base that had given a range value for the question

"% modelled without range" = percentage of base that had not been able to provide even a range estimate for the question 3.8 Cost calculations

Following data modelling – which ensured all respondents had exact answers for all questions – individual questions were combined to calculate 12 total annual cost components. This was necessary because, in order to make the questionnaire easier for respondents to complete, some costs were collected in monthly rather than yearly terms, per trainee terms rather than total, and so on. Factors were also included in these calculations to account for differences between employee salaries (more easily reported by respondents) and total labour costs (including tax and other costs) and the amount of time employees spend at work. The factors used are detailed in the table below.

Table 3.4 Factors included in cost calculations

| Factor | Value | Explanation | |-------------------------|-------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Labour cost up-weight | 24.2% | It was found during the pilot stage of LTW 2000 that employers were far better placed to report the salaries of their employees than the total cost of employing them. Respondents were, therefore, asked for the average basic salaries of those receiving and providing training. An up-weight of 24.2 per cent was then applied to these answers to take account of National Insurance, employer pension contributions, overtime and other additional elements. The source of the 24.2 per cent figure was Eurostat. In the UK, direct remuneration (wages and salaries including bonuses) made up 80.51 per cent of labour costs. Hence an uplift of 100/80.51 (i.e. 1.242 or 24.2%) is required to convert direct remuneration to total labour costs. |

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tps00113&plugin=1 | Factor | Value | Explanation | |---------------------------------------------|-------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Days worked per year | 215.1 | Used to calculate the per-working-day salary of an employee in order to calculate the cost, for example, of training an employee for one working day per year on the basis of their annual salary. Working age employees in England (from Labour Force Survey Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2010):\
• Worked an average of 4.8 days per week\
• Received an average of 25.3 paid days holiday, plus 9.2 bank / public holidays\
9.2 days bank holiday as extra Royal Wedding bank holiday in England, bringing total to 9, and 9 and 10 in Scotland and NI respectively.\
This gives: 52 x 4.8 (= 249.6) possible working days a year, less 25.3 days annual leave and 9.2 days bank/public holiday = 215.1 days worked per year. | | Hours worked a day | 6.6 | Used to convert number of working hours of training to working days. Derived from average hours worked a week at 31.7 (SUMHRS variable) divided by average days worked a week = 4.8) Source: Labour Force Survey Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2010. | | Working months in a year | 11 | Used to convert monthly training figures given in the on-the-job section of the datasheet into annual figures. | | Full/part-time adjustment to training centre labour costs | 0.75 | Training centre labour costs are collected in terms of ‘total basic annual salaries’ and as such the datasheet does not distinguish those working part-time from those working full-time. In order not to overestimate costs, therefore, this factor is applied to down-weight costs.\
In UK there are approximately the following numbers whose main job is adult or other education (SIC07 85.5): 185,000 working full-time and 134,000 part-time. The full-time workers work on average 32.4 hours, whilst the part-time workers work on average 13.2 hours. Converting the part-time workers into full-time equivalence (FTE) gives a FTE of 0.75 of the total (e.g. PT of 13.2 = 0.41 of FT hours of 32.4, so 185,000 x FT + 134,000 x 0.41 of FT = 239,940 divided by headcount of 319,000, which gives 0.75)\
Source: Labour Force Survey Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2010 | The formulae used to convert raw data to the comparable annual cost components were as follows. All calculations were performed using modelled data.

### Table 3.5 Formulae for the annual cost components

| Annual cost component | Formula | |------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------| | A Trainee labour costs (Q1–3) | Q1 * Q2 * 124.2% * Q3 / 215.1 | | B Fees to external providers (Q4) | Q4 | | C On-site training centre (Q6a/b) | (124.2% * 0.75 * Q6a ) + Q6b | | D Off-site training centre (in the same company) (Q7a) | Q7 | | E Training management (Q8–Q10) | Q8 * Q9/100 * 124.2% * Q10 | | F Non-training centre equipment and materials (Q11) | Q11 | | G Travel and subsistence (Q12) | Q12 | | H Levies minus grants (Q13–Q14) | Q13-Q14 | | Sub-total (course related) | A + B + C + D + E + F + G + H | | I Labour costs (Q15–Q17) | Q15 * Q16 * 124.2% * Q17 / 215.1 | | J Fees to external providers (Q18) | Q18 | | Sub-total (other off-the-job training) | I + J | | OFF-THE-JOB TOTAL | A + B + C + D + E + F + G + H + I + J | | K Trainee's labour costs (Q19–Q21) | Q19 * Q20 * 124.2% * Q21 * 11 / (215.1 * 6.6) | | L Trainers' labour costs (Q22–Q24) | Q22 * Q23 * 124.2% * Q24 * 11 / (215.1\* 6.6) | | ON-THE-JOB TOTAL | K + L | | TOTAL TRAINING SPEND | A + B + C + D + E + F + G + H + I + J + K + L |

Note: Where derived employment-based training spend figures are shown in this report (expenditure per trainee, or per capita, for example) and there is a choice between taking the measure given in the main UKCESS11 data and that in the data for the training expenditure survey, the data from the main survey are used. This is because base sizes are larger in the main survey and a separate employment weight is available to ensure a closer match to the actual workforce profile.

### 3.9 Calculating Investment time series data

In order to make time series comparisons between the Cost of Training survey series (2005 to 2009 in England) and the UKCESS 2011 Investment in Training data GDP deflators were used as a measure of inflation. These figures are a general measure of inflation in the domestic economy, and are published quarterly by HM Treasury. GDP deflators give an index measure of inflation compared to the present year. Using 2011 as the present year gives an index rating of 100.000; index figures for each preceding year are shown in Table 3.6. To calculate year on year change 2009 figures, for example, were upweighted to the 2011 equivalent thereby showing the 2009 figure in “today’s money”. This was done by dividing the 2009 training spend figure by the index figure for 2009.

Table 3.6 GDP deflator index figures

| Year of survey | GDP index | |----------------|-----------| | 2005 | 85.838 | | 2007 | 90.621 | | 2009 | 95.008 | | 2011 | 100.000 |

Source: HM Treasury

Further details can be found on the website: [http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_gdp_index.htm](http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_gdp_index.htm). 4 Skills equilibrium follow-up

Once the core survey was finished, a need arose for further investigation into whether those who were providing training were able to provide all the training they wanted to, in order to calculate a “skills equilibrium” measure. This was undertaken as a separate exercise once the core survey fieldwork was completed.

4.1 Sampling and fieldwork

All those who stated in the survey that they had arranged or funded any training for their staff and were willing to take part in follow-up surveys were emailed a web survey to investigate whether the extent of their training was sufficient for their needs, or if they would have preferred to have done more.

The survey fieldwork was initially scheduled for one and a half weeks in November; this was extended by a further five days to maximise the response rate.

In total 4,636 employers responded to the survey from an initial mail out of 35,025 records; a response rate of 13 per cent, a reasonable level for an internet-based survey such as this. Table 4.1 shows how response looked by country:

| | UK | England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales | |----------------|-----|---------|------------------|----------|-------| | Interviews | 4,610 | 3,840 | 223 | 196 | 351 | | Response rate | 13% | 13% | 13% | 15% | 12% |

No quotas were set on this follow up survey; consequently interviews were left to fall out naturally. Analysis of the proportions responding suggests that there is sufficient response to give robust analysis at the overall level by country, size and sector, with the exception of the Agriculture, Mining and Quarrying and Financial Services sectors where the base size is too low for robust analysis. Table 4.2 shows that a reasonable response rate was achieved in all sizes and sectors. Table 4.2 Response rate by size and sector

| Size | Interviews achieved | Response Rate | |------------|---------------------|---------------| | 1-4 | 596 | 16% | | 5-24 | 2524 | 12% | | 25-99 | 1108 | 14% | | 100-249 | 275 | 15% | | 250+ | 107 | 13% | | Agriculture| 34 | 14% | | Mining and quarrying | 8 | 11% | | Manufacturing| 368 | 13% | | Electricity, gas and water | 120 | 19% | | Construction| 310 | 12% | | Wholesale and retail | 414 | 9% | | Hotels and restaurants | 216 | 7% | | Transport, storage and communication | 360 | 13% | | Financial services | 76 | 13% | | Business activities | 963 | 15% | | Public administration | 171 | 20% | | Education | 506 | 17% | | Health and social work | 628 | 15% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 436 | 14% |

4.2 Questionnaire design

The questions were based on those asked in England’s National Employer Skills Survey 2009, re-worked for the online self-completion methodology. The reasons for not providing more training question was asked on a prompted basis, followed up with ranking the first, second and third main reasons. The full questionnaire can be seen in Appendix J.

4.3 Weighting/grossing up

Data was weighted to the profile of establishments who train from the core survey of the Employer Skills Survey; this is the same as the population used for the Investment in Training follow-up survey. This was completed within country on a size by training status basis, with a non-interlocking rim weight for sector. The skills equilibrium data file also contains the data records of non-trainers, allowing a combined “skills equilibrium” measure to be calculated when the file is weighted, giving an overall measure of those who felt they did not need to train or that their training was sufficient (“skills equilibrium”) versus those who would have liked to have trained or would like to have trained staff more than they had done (“not in skills equilibrium”).

As the data in the skills equilibrium survey is all establishment based, no employment weight has been calculated. 5 Using the survey for analysis

The UK Commission’s Employer Skills Survey 2011 is designed to be flexible enough to allow analysis of data for a large number of different purposes, and split by a large number of different subgroups of data. One of the challenges in providing accurate data for a number of different populations and analyses groupings is that each different purpose will have its own population and its own optimum weighting strategy.

As a result, there are multiple data files associated with the analysis of the survey. Figure 5.1 below provides a flow chart to identify which dataset to use for any given analysis query.

Figure 5.1 Selecting a datafile

Each data file has its own weight or set of weights, as follows:

01. Core dataset – UK-wide – Establishment, Employment and Modular weights

02. Investment in Training dataset – UK-wide, trainers only – Establishment weight

03. Skills Equilibrium dataset – UK-wide – Establishment weight

04. England local data (LEA and LEP) – England only – Establishment and Employment weights

05. England legacy data – England only – Establishment, Employment and Modular weights

06. England Investment in Training legacy data – England only – Establishment weight

07. England local legacy data – England only – Establishment and Employment weights

08. Northern Ireland legacy data – NI only – Establishment, Employment and Modular weights

09. Scotland legacy data – Scotland only – Establishment, Employment and Modular weights

10. Wales legacy data. – Wales only – Establishment and Modular weights

Table 5.1 gives details of each of these weights and when each one has been and should be used.

**Occupational file**

The main set of files referred to above use establishments as their unit of analysis. Another file, referred to as the occupational file, uses vacancy information from survey responses as its unit of analysis. This file is constructed from the information given in response to questions C7 and C8 (see Appendix G for the full survey questionnaire). It contains a limited set of firmographic information appended to detailed Standard Occupational Code (SOC) information for each vacancy, hard-to-fill vacancy, and skill-shortage vacancy listed. These are then weighted up to the overall population of vacancies, HTFVs, and SSVs.

**Accessing our data**

Much of the data referred to in this report can be downloaded from our website in table format.

If you cannot find the data you need, require access to a full survey dataset, or have further questions regarding any of our survey products, please contact employer.surveys@ukces.org.uk. Table 5.1 Application of weights during analysis

| Weight name | Population used | Coverage | Establishment/employment | Reports where used | Notes | Reporting thresholds | |---------------|----------------------------------|----------|--------------------------|--------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------| | Core survey | | | | | | | | Core dataset: | | | | | | | | UNITWEIGHT | 1+ Employment (excluding working proprietors) | UK | Establishment | UK | Used for establishment based measures. Use when comparing UK nations. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | | | | | | | | | EMPVOLWEIGHT | 1+ Employment (excluding working proprietors) | UK | Employment | UK | Used for employment based measures. Use when comparing UK nations. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | MODWEIGHT | 1+ Employment (excluding working proprietors) | UK | Establishment | UK | Should only be used for establishment based measures on modular questions (prefixed “M\_” in datafile). Use when comparing UK nations. | Under 50 not reported; 50-99 “indicative” | | England local data: | | | | | | | | LEAUNIT | 1+ Employment (excluding working proprietors) | England | Establishment | n/a | For use when analysing LEA and LEP data on the 2011 population. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | LEAEMP | 1+ Employment (excluding working proprietors) | England | Employment | n/a | For use when analysing LEA and LEP data on the 2011 population. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | Weight name | Population used | Coverage | Establishment/employment | Reports where used | Notes | Reporting thresholds | |-------------------|-----------------|----------------|--------------------------|--------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------| | England legacy: | | | | | | | | England: LEGACYUNIT | 2+ employment | England legacy population | Establishment | England | Establishment based measures. For use when comparing results back to previous NESS surveys. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | England: LEGACYEMP | 2+ employment | England legacy population | Employment | England | Employment based measures. For use when comparing results back to previous NESS surveys. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | England: LEGACYMOD | 2+ employment | England legacy population | Establishment | England | Should only be used for establishment based measures on modular questions (prefixed “M\_” in datafile) | Under 50 not reported; 50-99 “indicative” | | England local legacy: | | | | | | | | LEAUNIT | 2+ employment | England legacy population | Establishment | England appendices | For use when analysing LEA and LEP data on the legacy population. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | LEAEMP | 2+ employment | England legacy population | Employment | England appendices | For use when analysing LEA and LEP data on the legacy population. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | Weight name | Population used | Coverage | Establishment/employment | Reports where used | Notes | Reporting thresholds | |-------------------|-----------------|----------|--------------------------|--------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------| | NI legacy: | | | | | | | | NI: LEGACYUNIT | 1+ employees | NI legacy population | Establishment | Northern Ireland | Establishment based measures. For use when comparing results back to previous NISMS survey. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | NI: LEGACYEMP | 1+ employees | NI legacy population | Employment | Northern Ireland | Employment based measures. For use when comparing results back to previous NISMS survey. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | NI: LEGACYMOD | 1+ employees | NI legacy population | Establishment | Northern Ireland | Should only be used for establishment based measures on modular questions (prefixed “M\_” in datafile) | Under 50 not reported; 50-99 “indicative” | | Scotland legacy: | | | | | | | | Scotland: LEGACYUNIT | 1+ employees | Scotland legacy population | Establishment | Scotland | Establishment based measures. For use when comparing results back to previous SESS surveys. | Under 50 not reported; 50-99 “indicative” | | Scotland: LEGACYEMP | 1+ employees | Scotland legacy population | Employment | Scotland | Employment based measures. For use when comparing results back to previous SESS surveys. | Under 50 not reported; 50-99 “indicative” | | Scotland: LEGACYMOD | 1+ employees | Scotland legacy population | Establishment | Scotland | Should only be used for establishment based measures on modular questions (prefixed “M\_” in datafile) | Under 50 not reported; 50-99 “indicative” | | Weight name | Population used | Coverage | Establishment/employment | Reports where used | Notes | Reporting thresholds | |-------------------|-----------------|----------|--------------------------|--------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------| | Wales legacy: | | | | | | | | Wales: LEGACYUNIT | 2+ employment | Wales legacy population | Establishment | Wales report time series appendix | Establishment based measures. Avoid employment based comparison. For use when comparing results back to previous FSW surveys. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | Wales: LEGACYMOD | 2+ employment | Wales legacy population | Establishment | n/a | Should only be used for establishment based measures on modular questions (prefixed “M\_” in datafile) | Under 50 not reported; 50-99 “indicative” | | Investment in training | | | | | | | | UK file | | | | | | | | WEIGHT | 1+ Employment (excluding working proprietors) – trainers | Investment in Training data | Establishment | UK Wales | Applies to all 2011 analysis of Investment in Training data. For use when analysing 2011 training spend. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | England legacy | | | | | | | | LEGACYWEIGHT | 2+ Employment - trainers | England legacy population of trainers | Establishment | England | For use when analysing England Investment in Training data to compare to previous years. | Under 25 not reported; 25-49 “indicative” | | Weight name | Population used | Coverage | Establishment/employment | Reports where used | Notes | Reporting thresholds | |-------------------|------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|--------------------------|--------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------| | Skills Equilibrium| | | | | Applies to all 2011 analysis of Skills equilibrium data. | Under 50 not reported; 50-99 "indicative" | | SEUNITWEIGHT | 1+ Employment (excluding working proprietors) – trainers | Skills equilibrium data | Establishment | UK | | | The table above gives indicative thresholds for reporting data produced using each weight. However those seeking to conduct more stringent statistical testing are referred to Appendix E of this report, which shows the standard confidence intervals for different subgroup sample sizes.

### 5.1 Modelled data

The National Employer Skills Survey 2009 in England contained seven employer engagement indicators for analysis. These can be replicated using variables in the UK Commission’s Employer Skills Survey 2011 as follows:

| NESS09 indicator | Description | UKCESS 2011 variable name | |------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------| | empeng1 | Percentage of establishments with a business plan | H3 | | empeng2 | Percentage of establishments with a training plan | F1A | | empeng3 | Percentage of establishments with a training budget | F1B | | empeng4 | TOTAL days training | F11_MODELLED | | empeng5 | TOTAL number of employees trained | F8I_MODELLED | | empeng6 | Percentage of establishments that formally assess whether individual employees have gaps in their skills | n/a | | empeng7 | Percentage of establishments formally assess the performance of employees who have received training and development | F15 |

Training days and number of employees trained variables were calculated using modelled data. Where a “don’t know” answer was given at F8 or F11 the modelled variable assigned the establishment with the mean score for their size and sector. This ensured that the proportion of staff and total number of days training was not under-counted. Further information on analysing specific datasets and data variables can be found in the data dictionaries that accompany each SPSS data file. Appendix A: Industry Coding

Each establishment was allocated to one of 14 sectors, based on their Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). SIC 2007 was used to classify establishments using the following method. Using the four-digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) supplied for each record from the Experian database, a description of business activity was read out to each respondent. If they agreed that this description matched the main activity undertaken at the establishment, then the SIC on Experian’s database was assumed to be correct. If however the respondent felt the description did not correspond to their main business activity at the site (which about a quarter did), a verbatim response was collected to find out what they do (see question A7 on the survey; questionnaire shown in Appendix E). At the analysis stage this was coded to a four-digit SIC which was then used as the basis for allocation into sector.

The table below shows the 14 sectors used and their corresponding SIC 2007 definitions.

| Sector | SIC 2007 | |-------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1. Agriculture | A - Agriculture, forestry and fishing (01-03) | | | Including farming, hunting and other related service activities, forestry and logging, fishing and aquaculture | | 2. Mining & Quarrying | B - Mining and quarrying (05-09) | | | Including mining of coal, metals, sand/stone/clay, and extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas | | 3. Manufacturing | C - Manufacturing (10-33) | | | Including manufacture of food and beverage, textiles, chemicals and chemical products, basic pharmaceutical products, other mineral products, manufacture of metals and metal products, machinery, computer and electronic products and equipment, motor vehicles and other transport equipment, furniture, and repair and installation of machinery and equipment | | 4. Electricity, Gas and Water | D - Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (35) | | | E - Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (36-39) | | | Including electric power generation, transmission and distribution, manufacture of gas and distribution of gaseous fuels, steam and air conditioning supply, water collection, treatment and | | Sector | SIC 2007 | |-----------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | supply, sewerage and waste collection, treatment and disposal activities and materials recovery | | 5. Construction | F - Construction (41-43) | | | Including the construction of buildings, civil engineering (constructing roads, railways and other utility projects), demolition, and specialised activities such as electrical installation, roofing and scaffold erection | | 6. Wholesale and Retail | G - Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles (45-47) | | | Including sale, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles, parts and accessories, non-vehicle wholesale (for example agriculture, food, household goods), and the retail trade of all products whether in stores, stalls, markets, mail order or online | | 7. Hotels and Restaurants | I - Accommodation and food service activities (55-56) | | | Including hotels, campsites, youth hostels, holiday centres, villages and other short stay accommodation, restaurants and takeaways, event catering and licensed clubs, pubs and bars | | 8. Transport and Communications | H - Transport and storage (49-53) | | | J - Information and communication (58-63) | | | Including land, water and air transport (passenger and freight), warehousing and support activities for transportation, postal and courier activities, publishing (books, journals, newspapers etc and software/computer games), television, film and music production, broadcasting, telecommunications, computer programming and consultancy, information service activities (e.g. data processing and hosting) | | 9. Financial Services | K - Financial and insurance activities (64-66) | | | Including banks and building societies, activities of holding companies, trusts, funds and similar financial entities, credit granting, pensions, insurance and reinsurance | | Sector | SIC 2007 | |--------|----------| | 10. Business services | L - Real estate activities (68)\
M - Professional, scientific and technical activities (69-75)\
N - Administrative and support service activities (77-82)\
Including the buying, selling and renting of real estate, legal activities, accounting, bookkeeping and auditing, management consultancy, architectural and engineering activities, scientific research and development, advertising and market research, specialist design, photographic activities, translation and interpretation, veterinary activities, renting and leasing of tangible goods (motors, household, machinery), employment agencies, travel agencies and tour operations, security and investigation activities, office administration and business support | | 11. Public Administration | O - Public administration and defence; compulsory social security (84)\
Including administration of the State and economic and social policy of the community, provision of services to the community as a whole such as defence activities, foreign affairs, justice and judicial activities, fire service and compulsory social security activities | | 12. Education | P - Education (85)\
Including pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher education, other education (such as sports, driving schools, cultural education), educational support activities | | 13. Health and Social work | Q - Human health and social work activities (86-88)\
Including Hospitals, medical and dental practices, residential care, social work activities | | 14. Other Community, Social and Personal Services | R - Arts, entertainment and recreation (90-93)\
S - Other service activities (94-96)\
Including performing arts, libraries and museums, gambling and betting, sports facilities, amusement | | Sector | SIC 2007 | |--------|----------| | | and recreation activities, activities of membership organisations (religious, political, trade union, professional), personal services (hairdressing, beauty, textile cleaning, well-being activities, funeral activities) | | | T - Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods and services producing activities of households for own use (97-98) | | NOT COVERED IN SURVEY | U - Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies (99) | | | Including households as employers of domestic personnel, private households producing goods for own use | Appendix B: Occupational Coding

The occupational data collected in the survey were collected both pre-coded and verbatim. The former included the occupational breakdown of employment (question D5 to D8) where respondents were asked how many of their workforce fell into each of the nine major (one-digit) Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) 2010 categories (Managers, Directors and Senior Officials through to Elementary Occupations). However, on vacancy measures (for example the occupations in which vacancies exist – question C2) this information was collected verbatim. This was then coded at the analysis stage, where possible to a four-digit level SOC, if not three, two- or one-digit level.

Examples of what might fall into each occupational band are as follows:

| Occupational group | Primary sectors (Agriculture, manufacturing, construction etc) | Service sectors (retail, business, finance, transport etc) | Public sector (Public Admin, Health, Education etc) | |--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------| | Managers, Directors and Senior Officials | Site managers, Department Heads, Shift Managers (not supervisors) | Directors, Managers / Branch/site managers, shift managers (not supervisors) | Police inspectors and above, department heads, Head teachers, Senior Officials | | Professionals | Professional engineers, software and IT professionals, accountants, chemists, scientific researchers | Solicitors, lawyers, accountants, IT professionals, economists, architects, actuaries | Doctors, nurses, midwives, teachers, social workers, librarians | | Associate Professionals | Science and engineering technicians, lab technicians, IT technicians, accounting technicians | Insurance underwriters, finance/investment analysts and advisers, writers/journalists, buyers, estate agents | Junior police/fire/prison officers, therapists, paramedics, community workers, H&S officers, housing officers | | Administrative staff | Secretaries, receptionists, PAs, telephonists, bookkeepers | Secretaries, receptionists, PAs, communication operators, market research interviewers, clerks | Secretaries, receptionists, PAs, local government officers and assistants, office assistants, library and database assistants | | Skilled Trades | Farmers, electricians, machine setters / tool makers, carpenters, plasterers | Motor mechanics, printers, TV engineers, butchers | Chefs | | Caring, Leisure and Other Service Occupations | Care assistants, nursery nurses | Travel agents, travel assistants, hairdressers, housekeepers | Care assistants, home carers, nursery nurses, ambulance staff, pest control, dental nurses, caretakers | | Sales and customer service occupations | Customer facing roles: sales staff and call centre agents | Sales assistants and retail cashiers, telesales, call centre agents | Customer care operations | | Process, plant and machine operatives | Routine operatives, drivers, machine operators, sorters and assemblers | HGV, van, fork-lift, bus and taxi drivers | Drivers, vehicle inspectors | | Elementary occupations | Labourers, packers, goods handling and storage staff | Bar staff, shelf fillers, catering assistants, waiters/waitresses, cleaners | Labourers, cleaners, road sweepers, traffic wardens, security guards | Appendix C: Quota targets, Drawn Sample and Achieved Interviews

The table below shows for each region the ratio of sample drawn for each key quota group, and the achievement of interviews against the original target. Note that “sample drawn” figures are based on the sample information about size and sector, whereas the “interviews achieved” figures are based on the size and sector information confirmed by the respondent.

| Region | Overall Target | Sample drawn | Ratio | Interviews achieved | % of Overall Target | |---------------------------------|----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | East of England | 8,452 | 50,224 | 6:1 | 8,475 | 100% | | 1-4 | 1,694 | 16,657 | 10:1 | 1,552 | 92% | | 5-9 | 2,327 | 12,963 | 6:1 | 2,438 | 105% | | 10-24 | 2,433 | 11,814 | 5:1 | 2,475 | 102% | | 25-49 | 950 | 4,400 | 5:1 | 1,005 | 106% | | 50-99 | 580 | 2,409 | 4:1 | 569 | 98% | | 100-249 | 284 | 1,294 | 5:1 | 281 | 99% | | 250+ | 184 | 687 | 4:1 | 155 | 84% | | Agriculture | 127 | 798 | 6:1 | 91 | 72% | | Mining and quarrying | 16 | 84 | 5:1 | 16 | 100% | | Manufacturing | 686 | 5,006 | 7:1 | 806 | 117% | | Electricity, gas and water | 153 | 1,004 | 7:1 | 138 | 90% | | Construction | 932 | 6,013 | 6:1 | 706 | 76% | | Wholesale and retail | 1,228 | 7,296 | 6:1 | 1,476 | 120% | | Hotels and restaurants | 728 | 4,322 | 6:1 | 729 | 100% | | Transport, storage and communication | 815 | 4,446 | 5:1 | 803 | 99% | | Financial services | 331 | 564 | 2:1 | 164 | 50% | | Business activities | 1,387 | 8,517 | 6:1 | 1,478 | 107% | | Public administration | 140 | 1,057 | 8:1 | 143 | 102% | | Education | 541 | 3,235 | 6:1 | 551 | 102% | | Health and social work | 649 | 3,705 | 6:1 | 717 | 110% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 719 | 4,177 | 6:1 | 657 | 91% | | East Midlands | 7,326 | 59,421 | 8:1 | 7,336 | 100% | | 1-4 | 1,817 | 15,394 | 8:1 | 1,628 | 90% | | 5-9 | 1,994 | 16,885 | 8:1 | 2,041 | 102% | | 10-24 | 1,970 | 15,704 | 8:1 | 2,092 | 106% | | 25-49 | 735 | 5,751 | 8:1 | 808 | 110% | | 50-99 | 428 | 3,274 | 8:1 | 426 | 100% | | 100-249 | 227 | 1,603 | 7:1 | 222 | 98% | | 250+ | 155 | 810 | 5:1 | 119 | 77% | | Agriculture | 105 | 990 | 9:1 | 89 | 85% | | Mining and quarrying | 10 | 156 | 16:1 | 13 | 130% | | Industry | Overall Target | Sample drawn | Ratio | Interviews achieved | % of Overall Target | |----------------------------------------------|----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | Manufacturing | 661 | 5,317 | 8:1 | 733 | 111% | | Electricity, gas and water | 111 | 1,352 | 12:1 | 115 | 104% | | Construction | 795 | 6,592 | 8:1 | 534 | 67% | | Wholesale and retail | 1,129 | 8,504 | 8:1 | 1,282 | 114% | | Hotels and restaurants | 663 | 4,825 | 7:1 | 694 | 105% | | Transport, storage and communication | 667 | 5,814 | 9:1 | 660 | 99% | | Financial services | 224 | 1,837 | 8:1 | 78 | 35% | | Business activities | 1,097 | 10,866 | 10:1 | 1,181 | 108% | | Public administration | 119 | 1,201 | 10:1 | 122 | 103% | | Education | 495 | 3,303 | 7:1 | 486 | 98% | | Health and social work | 618 | 3,927 | 6:1 | 743 | 120% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 632 | 4,737 | 7:1 | 606 | 96% |

| London | 10,085 | 74,918 | 7:1 | 10,035 | 100% | |----------------------------------------------|----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | 1-4 | 1,735 | 19,726 | 11:1 | 1,890 | 109% | | 5-9 | 2,145 | 16,521 | 8:1 | 2,290 | 107% | | 10-24 | 3,212 | 21,453 | 7:1 | 3,032 | 94% | | 25-49 | 1,295 | 7,993 | 6:1 | 1,392 | 107% | | 50-99 | 880 | 5,071 | 6:1 | 797 | 91% | | 100-249 | 470 | 2,664 | 6:1 | 447 | 95% | | 250+ | 348 | 1,490 | 4:1 | 187 | 54% | | Agriculture | 70 | 585 | 8:1 | 18 | 26% | | Mining and quarrying | 3 | 41 | 14:1 | 15 | 500% | | Manufacturing | 684 | 7,146 | 10:1 | 639 | 93% | | Electricity, gas and water | 144 | 1,382 | 10:1 | 94 | 65% | | Construction | 949 | 7,214 | 8:1 | 582 | 61% | | Wholesale and retail | 1,365 | 9,816 | 7:1 | 1,611 | 118% | | Hotels and restaurants | 874 | 5,903 | 7:1 | 1,068 | 122% | | Transport, storage and communication | 1,033 | 7,821 | 8:1 | 995 | 96% | | Financial services | 625 | 3,719 | 6:1 | 346 | 55% | | Business activities | 1,957 | 15,083 | 8:1 | 2,050 | 105% | | Public administration | 161 | 1,644 | 10:1 | 152 | 94% | | Education | 600 | 3,889 | 6:1 | 600 | 100% | | Health and social work | 748 | 4,530 | 6:1 | 967 | 129% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 872 | 6,145 | 7:1 | 898 | 103% |

| North East | 5,635 | 37,975 | 7:1 | 5,648 | 100% | |----------------------------------------------|----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | 1-4 | 2,314 | 18,435 | 8:1 | 1,910 | 83% | | 5-9 | 1,398 | 8,318 | 6:1 | 1,653 | 118% | | 10-24 | 1,075 | 6,389 | 6:1 | 1,188 | 111% | | 25-49 | 403 | 2,386 | 6:1 | 442 | 110% | | 50-99 | 246 | 1,396 | 6:1 | 242 | 98% | | 100-249 | 123 | 706 | 6:1 | 129 | 105% | | 250+ | 76 | 345 | 5:1 | 84 | 111% | | Industry | Overall Target | Sample drawn | Ratio | Interviews achieved | % of Overall Target | |----------------------------------------------|----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | Agriculture | 31 | 247 | 8:1 | 61 | 197% | | Mining and quarrying | 4 | 39 | 10:1 | 7 | 175% | | Manufacturing | 489 | 3,574 | 7:1 | 435 | 89% | | Electricity, gas and water | 44 | 407 | 9:1 | 54 | 123% | | Construction | 597 | 4,353 | 7:1 | 410 | 69% | | Wholesale and retail | 915 | 5,920 | 6:1 | 1,172 | 128% | | Hotels and restaurants | 585 | 3,730 | 6:1 | 574 | 98% | | Transport, storage and communication | 501 | 3,308 | 7:1 | 460 | 92% | | Financial services | 131 | 730 | 6:1 | 81 | 62% | | Business activities | 838 | 6,236 | 7:1 | 901 | 108% | | Public administration | 73 | 614 | 8:1 | 89 | 122% | | Education | 397 | 2,364 | 6:1 | 337 | 85% | | Health and social work | 510 | 3,047 | 6:1 | 532 | 104% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 520 | 3,406 | 7:1 | 535 | 103% |

| North West | 8,805 | 61,508 | 7:1 | 8,812 | 100% | |----------------------------------------------|----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | 1-4 | 1,610 | 14,592 | 9:1 | 1,437 | 89% | | 5-9 | 2,040 | 15,029 | 7:1 | 2,147 | 105% | | 10-24 | 2,663 | 17,642 | 7:1 | 2,742 | 103% | | 25-49 | 1,186 | 7,116 | 6:1 | 1,244 | 105% | | 50-99 | 704 | 4,023 | 6:1 | 678 | 96% | | 100-249 | 357 | 2,022 | 6:1 | 360 | 101% | | 250+ | 245 | 1,084 | 4:1 | 204 | 83% | | Agriculture | 106 | 773 | 7:1 | 59 | 56% | | Mining and quarrying | 9 | 78 | 9:1 | 9 | 100% | | Manufacturing | 721 | 5,534 | 8:1 | 845 | 117% | | Electricity, gas and water | 155 | 1,271 | 8:1 | 158 | 102% | | Construction | 902 | 6,431 | 7:1 | 699 | 77% | | Wholesale and retail | 1,352 | 9,409 | 7:1 | 1,512 | 112% | | Hotels and restaurants | 794 | 5,374 | 7:1 | 805 | 101% | | Transport, storage and communication | 779 | 5,431 | 7:1 | 801 | 103% | | Financial services | 413 | 2,367 | 6:1 | 219 | 53% | | Business activities | 1,366 | 10,368 | 8:1 | 1,496 | 110% | | Public administration | 160 | 1,580 | 10:1 | 142 | 89% | | Education | 565 | 3,368 | 6:1 | 589 | 104% | | Health and social work | 725 | 4,358 | 6:1 | 798 | 110% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 758 | 5,166 | 7:1 | 680 | 90% |

| South East | 10,693 | 76,286 | 7:1 | 10,714 | 100% | |----------------------------------------------|----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | 1-4 | 1,991 | 18,357 | 9:1 | 1,944 | 98% | | 5-9 | 2,370 | 18,366 | 8:1 | 2,475 | 104% | | 10-24 | 3,276 | 22,113 | 7:1 | 3,281 | 100% | | 25-49 | 1,413 | 8,571 | 6:1 | 1,455 | 103% | | 50-99 | 874 | 4,928 | 6:1 | 832 | 95% | | Overall Target | Sample drawn | Ratio | Interviews achieved | % of Overall Target | |----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | 100-249 | 477 | 2,680 | 6:1 | 533 | 112% | | 250+ | 292 | 1,271 | 4:1 | 194 | 66% | | Agriculture | 164 | 1,330 | 8:1 | 110 | 67% | | Mining and quarrying | 20 | 177 | 9:1 | 20 | 100% | | Manufacturing | 791 | 6,705 | 8:1 | 897 | 113% | | Electricity, gas and water | 240 | 2,024 | 8:1 | 223 | 93% | | Construction | 1,115 | 7,763 | 7:1 | 902 | 81% | | Wholesale and retail | 1,487 | 10,129 | 7:1 | 1,781 | 120% | | Hotels and restaurants | 914 | 6,263 | 7:1 | 899 | 98% | | Transport, storage and communication | 1,041 | 7,424 | 7:1 | 1,148 | 110% | | Financial services | 526 | 2,949 | 6:1 | 256 | 49% | | Business activities | 1,825 | 14,103 | 8:1 | 1,836 | 101% | | Public administration | 201 | 2,046 | 10:1 | 213 | 106% | | Education | 652 | 4,074 | 6:1 | 694 | 106% | | Health and social work | 811 | 5,292 | 7:1 | 904 | 111% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 906 | 6,007 | 7:1 | 831 | 92% |

| South West | Overall Target | Sample drawn | Ratio | Interviews achieved | % of Overall Target | |------------|----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | 8,451 | 59,230 | 7:1 | 8,458 | 100% | | 1-4 | 1,849 | 16,520 | 9:1 | 1,724 | 93% | | 5-9 | 2,393 | 16,818 | 7:1 | 2,554 | 107% | | 10-24 | 2,350 | 15,375 | 7:1 | 2,464 | 105% | | 25-49 | 885 | 5,318 | 6:1 | 894 | 101% | | 50-99 | 531 | 2,990 | 6:1 | 465 | 88% | | 100-249 | 263 | 1,455 | 6:1 | 243 | 92% | | 250+ | 180 | 754 | 4:1 | 114 | 63% | | Agriculture | 131 | 1,147 | 9:1 | 120 | 92% | | Mining and quarrying | 21 | 200 | 10:1 | 28 | 133% | | Manufacturing | 684 | 4,787 | 7:1 | 741 | 108% | | Electricity, gas and water | 137 | 1,177 | 9:1 | 153 | 112% | | Construction | 913 | 6,670 | 7:1 | 626 | 69% | | Wholesale and retail | 1,258 | 8,960 | 7:1 | 1,491 | 119% | | Hotels and restaurants | 821 | 5,700 | 7:1 | 915 | 111% | | Transport, storage and communication | 754 | 4,970 | 7:1 | 777 | 103% | | Financial services | 328 | 1,862 | 6:1 | 110 | 34% | | Business activities | 1,265 | 10,092 | 8:1 | 1,376 | 109% | | Public administration | 146 | 1,304 | 9:1 | 143 | 98% | | Education | 562 | 3,249 | 6:1 | 481 | 86% | | Health and social work | 703 | 4,307 | 6:1 | 791 | 113% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 728 | 4,805 | 7:1 | 706 | 97% |

| West Midlands | Overall Target | Sample drawn | Ratio | Interviews achieved | % of Overall Target | |---------------|----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | 7,933 | 57,250 | 7:1 | 7,975 | 101% | | 1-4 | 3,711 | 29,823 | 8:1 | 2,911 | 78% | | 5-9 | 1,884 | 12,152 | 6:1 | 2,152 | 114% | | 10-24 | 1,374 | 8,895 | 6:1 | 1,697 | 124% | | Overall Target | Sample drawn | Ratio | Interviews achieved | % of Overall Target | |----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | 25-49 | 462 | 3,098 | 7:1 | 560 | 121% | | 50-99 | 278 | 1,817 | 7:1 | 313 | 113% | | 100-249 | 125 | 867 | 7:1 | 211 | 169% | | 250+ | 99 | 598 | 6:1 | 131 | 132% | | Agriculture | 70 | 644 | 9:1 | 87 | 124% | | Mining and quarrying | 12 | 80 | 7:1 | 15 | 125% | | Manufacturing | 747 | 7,456 | 10:1 | 875 | 117% | | Electricity, gas and water | 71 | 1,025 | 14:1 | 124 | 175% | | Construction | 854 | 6,045 | 7:1 | 548 | 64% | | Wholesale and retail | 1,260 | 8,133 | 6:1 | 1,482 | 118% | | Hotels and restaurants | 723 | 4,509 | 6:1 | 774 | 107% | | Transport, storage and communication | 742 | 4,756 | 6:1 | 638 | 86% | | Financial services | 192 | 1,153 | 6:1 | 104 | 54% | | Business activities | 1,247 | 10,001 | 8:1 | 1,327 | 106% | | Public administration | 106 | 1,325 | 13:1 | 107 | 101% | | Education | 542 | 3,409 | 6:1 | 424 | 78% | | Health and social work | 665 | 4,152 | 6:1 | 747 | 112% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 702 | 4,562 | 6:1 | 723 | 103% |

| Yorkshire and Humber | 7,620 | 52,026 | 7:1 | 7,600 | 100% | |----------------------|-------|--------|-----|-------|------| | 1-4 | 1,430 | 13,040 | 9:1 | 195 | 14% | | 5-9 | 1,907 | 13,703 | 7:1 | 279 | 15% | | 10-24 | 2,310 | 14,353 | 6:1 | 260 | 11% | | 25-49 | 914 | 5,363 | 6:1 | 95 | 10% | | 50-99 | 586 | 3,181 | 5:1 | 53 | 9% | | 100-249 | 283 | 1,587 | 6:1 | 29 | 10% | | 250+ | 190 | 799 | 4:1 | 15 | 8% | | Agriculture | 114 | 738 | 6:1 | 80 | 70% | | Mining and quarrying | 8 | 78 | 10:1| 4 | 50% | | Manufacturing | 660 | 5,125 | 8:1 | 739 | 112% | | Electricity, gas and water | 139 | 948 | 7:1 | 120 | 86% | | Construction | 806 | 5,779 | 7:1 | 546 | 68% | | Wholesale and retail | 1,206 | 8,411 | 7:1 | 1,410 | 117% | | Hotels and restaurants | 714 | 4,683 | 7:1 | 783 | 110% | | Transport, storage and communication | 662 | 4,281 | 6:1 | 636 | 96% | | Financial services | 323 | 1,587 | 5:1 | 120 | 37% | | Business activities | 1,089 | 8,286 | 8:1 | 1,191 | 109% | | Public administration | 124 | 1,139 | 9:1 | 132 | 106% | | Education | 495 | 2,937 | 6:1 | 435 | 88% | | Health and social work | 629 | 3,810 | 6:1 | 741 | 118% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 651 | 4,224 | 6:1 | 663 | 102% |

| Northern Ireland | 4,000 | 32,703 | 8:1 | 4,004 | 100% | |------------------|-------|--------|-----|-------|------| | 1-4 | 1,338 | 12,619 | 9:1 | 1,072 | 80% | | Overall Target | Sample drawn | Ratio | Interviews achieved | % of Overall Target | |----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | 5-9 | 1,014 | 8:1 | 1,171 | 115% | | 10-24 | 1,053 | 8:1 | 1,094 | 104% | | 25-49 | 282 | 8:1 | 327 | 116% | | 50-99 | 172 | 6:1 | 185 | 108% | | 100-249 | 82 | 6:1 | 105 | 128% | | 250+ | 59 | 4:1 | 50 | 85% | | Agriculture | 42 | 6:1 | 33 | 79% | | Mining and quarrying | 13 | 8:1 | 15 | 115% | | Manufacturing | 363 | 9:1 | 348 | 96% | | Electricity, gas and water | 52 | 6:1 | 54 | 104% | | Construction | 382 | 8:1 | 367 | 96% | | Wholesale and retail | 636 | 9:1 | 736 | 116% | | Hotels and restaurants | 367 | 8:1 | 335 | 91% | | Transport, storage and communication | 344 | 8:1 | 303 | 88% | | Financial services | 126 | 7:1 | 139 | 110% | | Business activities | 488 | 8:1 | 515 | 106% | | Public administration | 102 | 6:1 | 107 | 105% | | Education | 314 | 8:1 | 287 | 91% | | Health and social work | 383 | 8:1 | 433 | 113% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 388 | 9:1 | 332 | 86% |

| Scotland | 2,500 | 8:1 | 2,503 | 100% | |----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | 1-4 | 358 | 11:1 | 313 | 87% | | 5-9 | 284 | 10:1 | 335 | 118% | | 10-24 | 561 | 9:1 | 560 | 100% | | 25-49 | 386 | 8:1 | 402 | 104% | | 50-99 | 443 | 7:1 | 413 | 93% | | 100-249 | 289 | 6:1 | 323 | 112% | | 250+ | 179 | 4:1 | 157 | 88% | | Agriculture | 107 | 8:1 | 89 | 83% | | Mining and quarrying | 17 | 12:1 | 24 | 141% | | Manufacturing | 166 | 11:1 | 178 | 107% | | Electricity, gas and water | 101 | 8:1 | 82 | 81% | | Construction | 220 | 7:1 | 231 | 105% | | Wholesale and retail | 332 | 7:1 | 318 | 96% | | Hotels and restaurants | 214 | 8:1 | 220 | 103% | | Transport, storage and communication | 196 | 8:1 | 225 | 115% | | Financial services | 130 | 6:1 | 91 | 70% | | Business activities | 364 | 8:1 | 346 | 95% | | Public administration | 117 | 15:1 | 137 | 117% | | Education | 145 | 7:1 | 164 | 113% | | Health and social work | 190 | 6:1 | 208 | 109% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 201 | 8:1 | 190 | 95% | | Wales | Overall Target | Sample drawn | Ratio | Interviews achieved | % of Overall Target | |---------------|----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|---------------------| | 1-4 | 6,000 | 30,423 | 5:1 | 6,012 | 100% | | 5-9 | 1,347 | 8,680 | 6:1 | 1,216 | 90% | | 10-24 | 1,459 | 7,689 | 5:1 | 1,493 | 102% | | 25-49 | 1,966 | 8,263 | 4:1 | 1,981 | 101% | | 50-99 | 726 | 2,729 | 4:1 | 750 | 103% | | 100-249 | 278 | 1,844 | 7:1 | 324 | 117% | | 250+ | 125 | 804 | 6:1 | 151 | 121% | | Agriculture | 101 | 623 | 6:1 | 102 | 101% | | Mining and quarrying | 12 | 113 | 9:1 | 22 | 183% | | Manufacturing | 450 | 2,299 | 5:1 | 468 | 104% | | Electricity, gas and water | 101 | 589 | 6:1 | 111 | 110% | | Construction | 605 | 3,470 | 6:1 | 503 | 83% | | Wholesale and retail | 931 | 5,088 | 5:1 | 1,069 | 115% | | Hotels and restaurants | 637 | 3,355 | 5:1 | 675 | 106% | | Transport, storage and communication | 508 | 2,302 | 5:1 | 439 | 86% | | Financial services | 298 | 1,260 | 4:1 | 173 | 58% | | Business activities | 765 | 4,150 | 5:1 | 791 | 103% | | Public administration | 100 | 816 | 8:1 | 130 | 130% | | Education | 407 | 1,780 | 4:1 | 391 | 96% | | Health and social work | 529 | 1,561 | 3:1 | 580 | 110% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 556 | 3,017 | 5:1 | 558 | 100% |

## Appendix D: Response Rates by subgroup

| Subgroup | Interviews achieved | Response Rate | |-----------------------------------|---------------------|---------------| | England | 75,053 | 39% | | Northern Ireland | 4,004 | 57% | | Scotland | 2,503 | 39% | | Wales | 6,012 | 55% | | 1-4 | 18,995 | 31% | | 5-9 | 22,758 | 40% | | 10-24 | 25,012 | 42% | | 25-49 | 10,239 | 43% | | 50-99 | 5,172 | 41% | | 100-249 | 3,270 | 39% | | 250+ | 1,626 | 38% | | Agriculture | 939 | 33% | | Mining and quarrying | 188 | 36% | | Manufacturing | 7,704 | 35% | | Electricity, gas and water | 1,426 | 33% | | Construction | 6,654 | 32% | | Wholesale and retail | 15,340 | 39% | | Hotels and restaurants | 8,471 | 47% | | Transport, storage and communication | 7,885 | 35% | | Financial services | 1,881 | 26% | | Business activities | 14,488 | 37% | | Public administration | 1,617 | 31% | | Education | 5,439 | 50% | | Health and social work | 8,161 | 52% | | Other community, social and personal service activities | 7,379 | 45% | Appendix E: Sampling Error and Statistical Confidence

Sampling errors for the survey results overall and for key sub-groups are presented in the table below. Figures have been based on a survey result of 50 per cent (the ‘worst’ case in terms of statistical reliability), and have used a 95 per cent confidence level. Where the table indicates that a survey result based on all respondents has a sampling error of +/-0.32 per cent, this should be interpreted as follows: ‘for a question asked of all respondents where the survey result is 50 per cent, we are 95 per cent confident that the true figure lies within the range 49.68 per cent to 50.32 per cent’.

As a note, the calculation of sampling error has taken into account the finite population correction factor to account for cases where we are measuring a significant portion of the population universe (i.e. even if two sample sizes are the same, the sampling error will be lower if in one case a far higher proportion of the population was covered).

These confidence intervals are based on the assumption of a normal distribution of responses.

| Sampling error (at the confidence 95 per cent level) associated with findings of 50 per cent | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | Population | Number of interviews | (Maximum) Sampling Error | | Overall | 2,299,921 | 87,572 | +/-0.32 | | By country | | | | | England | 1,960,298 | 75,053 | +/-0.35 | | Northern Ireland | 65,559 | 4,004 | +/-1.5 | | Scotland | 175,114 | 2,503 | +/-1.94 | | Wales | 98,950 | 6,012 | +/-1.22 | | By size of establishment | | | | | 1-4 | 1,466,397 | 18,955 | +/-0.99 | | 5-24 | 648,446 | 47,770 | +/-0.61 | | 25-99 | 147,319 | 15,951 | +/-1.03 | | 100-249 | 25,945 | 3,270 | +/-2.27 | | 250+ | 11,814 | 1,626 | +/-3.12 | | By sector | Population | Number of interviews | (Maximum) Sampling Error | |----------------------------------------|------------|----------------------|--------------------------| | Agriculture | 98,458 | 939 | +/-3.18 | | Mining & Quarrying | 2,222 | 188 | +/-6.84 | | Manufacturing | 128,255 | 7,704 | +/-1.08 | | Electricity, Gas and Water | 10,583 | 1,426 | +/-3.35 | | Construction | 241,429 | 6,654 | +/-1.18 | | Wholesale and Retail | 441,365 | 15,340 | +/-0.78 | | Hotels & Restaurants | 167,215 | 8,471 | +/-1.04 | | Transport and Communications | 210,801 | 7,885 | +/-1.08 | | Financial Services | 52,381 | 1,881 | +/-2.22 | | Business Services | 551,612 | 14,488 | +/-0.80 | | Public Administration | 26,058 | 1,617 | +/-2.36 | | Education | 65,499 | 5,439 | +/-1.27 | | Health and Social Work | 140,269 | 8,161 | +/-1.05 | | Community, Social and Personal Services| 163,774 | 7,379 | +/-1.11 | Appendix F: Questionnaire Harmonisation

A key part of the questionnaire design process was making decisions on how questions that had been asked differently over the four nations in their previous surveys would be addressed in the 2011 survey. Full details of question by question comparability over time can be found in the data dictionaries accompanying the SPSS data files; the table below shows this information for the five key measures in the survey: vacancies, hard-to-fill vacancies, skill-shortage vacancies, skills gaps and training. Text in bold indicates differences between the nations’ legacy survey text and the 2011 text.

Table F.1 Question text: Vacancies

| Vacancies | Question text | |-----------|---------------| | UKCESS 2011 | How many vacancies, if any, do you CURRENTLY have at this establishment? | | | In which specific occupations do you currently have [vacancies / a vacancy] at this establishment? | | | How many vacancies do you have for <EACH OCCUPATION MENTIONED>? | | NESS 09 | As UKCESS 2011 | | NISMS 08 | How many vacancies, if any, do you currently have at this establishment? Please include vacancies for both full-time and part time positions. | | | In which specific occupation(s) do you currently have [vacancies / a vacancy] at this establishment? | | | How many vacancies do you have for <EACH OCCUPATION MENTIONED>? | | SESS 10 | Do you currently have any vacancies for either full-time or part-time staff? | | | How many vacancies do you have in total? | | | In what occupations do you have vacancies? | | | And how many vacancies do you have for [OCCUPATION]? | | FSW 05 | I would now like to ask you about vacancies at this establishment. How many vacancies, if any, do you currently have at this establishment for full or part time staff? |

The differences in vacancy wording were considered small enough that the measure is still broadly comparable for all nations. Table F.2 Question text: Hard-to-fill vacancies

| Hard-to-fill vacancies | Question text | |------------------------|---------------| | UKCESS 2011 | Are any of these vacancies IF C6=1: Is this vacancy proving hard to fill? How many of your vacancies for <TEXT SUBSTITUTION: OCCUPATION AT C7> are proving hard-to-fill? | | NESS 09 | As UKCESS 2011 | | NISMS 08 | Are any of the vacancies for [OCCUPATION] proving difficult to fill? How many of the [OCCUPATION AT B3] vacancies are proving difficult to fill? | | SESS 10 | Are you finding it hard to fill [this vacancy/any of these vacancies] for (EACH OCCUPATION MENTIONED)? How many of the vacancies that you have for (OCCUPATIONS WITH HARD-TO-FILL VACANCIES) are you finding hard-to-fill? | | FSW 05 | How many of your < no of vacancies > are proving hard to fill? In which specific occupation(s) do you currently have hard to fill vacancies at this establishment? I will record details for up to 6 different occupations |

The differences in hard-to-fill vacancy wording were considered small enough that the measure is still broadly comparable for all nations. Table F.3 Question text: Skill-shortage vacancies

| Skill-shortage vacancies | Question text | |--------------------------|---------------| | UKCESS 2011 | What are the main causes of having a hard to fill vacancy for [OCCUPATION]?

Can I just check, are you finding [this vacancy/any of these vacancies] for <OCCUPATION> hard to fill because applicants have not been of sufficient quality, because there have been few or no applicants, or both of these reasons?

You said that you have had problems with the quality of the candidates for [OCCUPATION]. Would you say that they have been lacking...

- The skills you look for
- The qualifications you look for
- The work experience that you require
- Or do applicants tend to have poor attitudes, motivation and/or personality

NESS 09

As UKCESS 2011

NISMS 08

What are the main reasons the [OCCUPATION] vacancy is difficult to fill?

Can I just check, are you finding the <OCCUPATION> vacancy difficult to fill because applicants have not been of sufficient quality, because there have been few or no applicants, or both of these reasons?

You said that you have had problems with the quality of the candidates for [OCCUPATION]. Would you say that they have been lacking...

- The skills you look for
- The qualifications you look for
- The work experience that you require
- Or do applicants tend to have poor attitudes, motivation and/or personality

SESS 10

I'm now going to ask some questions about each of these hard to fill vacancies in turn. Thinking about [occupation 1] are you finding [this vacancy/any of these vacancies] for hard to fill because applicants have not been of sufficient quality, because there have been few or no applicants, or both of these reasons?

You said that you have had problems with the quality of the candidates for [OCCUPATION]. Would you say that they have been lacking...

- The skills you look for
- The qualifications you look for
- The work experience that you require
- Or do applicants tend to have poor attitudes, motivation and/or personality What are the main reasons that the [OCCUPATION] vacancy is/ vacancies are proving hard-to-fill?

The differences in skills-shortage vacancy wording were considered small enough that the measure is still broadly comparable for all nations except Wales where comparisons should be avoided as only unprompted skill-shortage vacancies were measured.

Table F.4 Question text: Skills gaps

| Skills gaps | Question text | |-------------|---------------| | UKCESS 2011 | Thinking about the broad categories of employees, for each, I'd like to know how many you think are fully proficient at their job. A proficient employee is someone who is able to do the job to the required level. Back to thinking about ALL people working at your establishment, how many of your [INSERT NUMBER] existing staff working in [OCCUPATION] would you regard as fully proficient at their job? | | NESS 09 | As UKCESS 2011 | | NISMS 08 | For each category of staff, I would like to know how many you think are fully proficient at their job. By ‘a proficient employee’ I mean someone who is able to do the job to the required level. How many of your existing [OCCUPATION] would you regard as being fully proficient at their current job? | | SESS 10 | I'd now like to ask you about the number of your staff in each category that you would consider to be fully proficient at their jobs. First of all how many of your [INSERT NO. OF EMPLOYEES] existing staff at this establishment employed as (OCCUPATION) would you regard as being fully proficient at their current job? | | FSW 05 | As UKCESS 2011 |

The differences in skills gap wording were considered small enough that the measure is still broadly comparable for all nations.

3 Although there was little change to the question wording in 2011, the routing for Northern Ireland did change on this question. Time trends should be therefore interpreted with care. For a fuller discussion please see p.65 of the Northern Ireland Report. [http://www.ukces.org.uk/assets/ukces/docs/publications/evidence-report-61-employer-skills-survey-11-ni-es.pdf](http://www.ukces.org.uk/assets/ukces/docs/publications/evidence-report-61-employer-skills-survey-11-ni-es.pdf) Table F.5 Question text: Training

| Training | Question text | |------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | UKCESS 2011| Over the past 12 months have you arranged or funded any off-the-job training or development for employees at this site - by off-the-job training we mean training away from the individual’s immediate work position, whether on your premises or elsewhere. And have you arranged or funded any on-the-job or informal training and development over the last 12 months - by this I mean activities that would be recognised as training by the staff, and not the sort of learning by experience which could take place all the time. | | NESS 09 | Over the past 12 months have you funded or arranged any off-the-job training or development for employees at this site? By off-the-job training we mean training away from the individual’s immediate work position, whether on your premises or elsewhere? And have you funded or arranged any on-the-job or informal training and development over the last 12 months? By this I mean activities that would be recognised as training by the staff, and not the sort of learning by experience which could take place all the time. | | NISMS 08 | Over the past 12 months have you funded or arranged any off-the-job training or development for employees at this site. By off-the-job training we mean training away from the individual’s immediate work position, whether on your premises or elsewhere? It includes all sorts of courses – full or part time; correspondence or distance learning; Health and Safety training and so on. Turning briefly now to on-the-job and informal training and development. By on-the-job training I mean training that is given at the desk of place where the person usually works, but would be recognised as training by the staff, and not the sort of learning by experience which could take place all the time. Have you funded or arranged any such on-the-job or informal training over the last 12 months? | | Training | Question text | |----------|---------------| | SESS 10 | Has your organisation funded or arranged any training for employees at this establishment in the past 12 months? This includes both on and off the job training. And has the training that this organisation has arranged for employees at this site in the last 12 months been on-the-job training, off-the-job training, or both? By on-the-job training, I mean all training that is carried out at the immediate workstation (i.e. the individual’s desk or normal working location within your establishment). For the purposes of this study, by off-the-job training, I mean training that is conducted away from the immediate workstation whether it is conducted at your premises or elsewhere. Off-the-job training can include all sorts of courses – full or part-time; correspondence or distance learning; health & safety training, and so on – as long as it is funded or arranged by you. | | FSW 05 | I am now going to ask you some questions about off-the-job training. By off-the-job training, I mean all training that was delivered away from the immediate work position. It can be given at your premises or elsewhere. It includes all sorts of courses – full or part-time; correspondence, distance or e-learning; health and safety training and so on – as long as it is funded or arranged by your organisation for employees working at this site. Has your organisation funded or arranged any off-the-job training for any of your employees over the past 12 months at this site? |

The differences in vacancy wording were considered small enough that the measure is still broadly comparable for England and Northern Ireland.

For Scotland the difference in approach in 2011 influenced the number of employers reporting that they trained.

In Wales only off-the-job training was covered, therefore comparisons can only be made to the off-the-job figures in 2011. Appendix G: Briefing Notes / Core Questionnaire

Background to the survey

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) was established in 2008; its aim is to benefit employers, individuals and the government by raising the UK’s prosperity through developing world class employment and skills systems in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Employer Skills Survey 2011 (ESS2011) plays an important role in achieving this, by measuring the skills employers need, the skills they are short of, actions they are taking to increase skills in their workforces and the impact of any skills gaps they experience.

ESS2011 is the first time the skills surveys of the four nations of the UK have been brought together into one survey. UKCES are partnering with the department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in England, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Assembly to get a UK-wide measure of the skills landscape for the first time.

ESS2011 is part of a wider research series into skills for the workplace, and is a sister survey to the Employer Perspectives Survey, which was run by IFF in 2010. ESS2011 is designed to be “inward looking”; that is, it asks about areas relating to the respondent’s own establishment and internal procedures; the sister EPS survey is “outward looking”, examining their experience of government initiatives and external assistance. Together, the survey results are used to help inform learning provision in the UK so that it meets the skill needs of employers.

The last Skills Survey to take place in England was NESS in 2009; in Scotland it was SESS in 2010, in Northern Ireland the last NI Skills Monitoring Survey took place in 2008 and in Wales Future Skills Wales took place in 2005. The current survey is an amalgamation of the four, and covers such areas as retention and recruitment difficulties, current and future skill requirements and skills gaps within the current workforce.

Scope of the survey

This year, c.85,500 interviews are being conducted overall. This is being divided between 3 fieldwork providers: IFF Research, Ipsos MORI and BMG. Each contractor is covering different regions as follows:

| Contractor | Regions | |----------------|----------------------------------------------| | IFF Research | Wales, Northern Ireland | | Ipsos MORI | North East, North West, East, South East, East Midlands, London, Scotland | | BMG | South West, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside |

This is one of the largest surveys of employers ever conducted in the UK. The survey covers all sectors of industry and the full range of size of establishment (other than “one-man-bands” – those where there is only one person at the location and they own the organisation). If however there is one person at the site who does not own all or part of the organisation (i.e. one employee) then they are still eligible for this survey.

An establishment-based survey

The survey is establishment-based. Hence we are likely to be interviewing a number of different sites of organisations with a large number of sites. It is crucial that we emphasise to the respondent that all the questions refer to that particular site, not the business as a whole. We are not taking referrals to other sites. This is because the other sites may themselves have been sampled, and also in large chains headquarters staff may receive a very large number of these referrals, and it is important that employers are not burdened. The sample

The sample of establishments has been drawn from the Experian Business Database. Sample has been drawn from all sectors (public and private).

Identifying the correct respondent

Most of the sample is not named. Where it is named this is where the respondent has taken part in the last NESS study (in 2009). There is no guarantee that the person is still the right person to talk to (and in many cases they will now work at a different establishment or will have left the organisation altogether). The name will help as a way in, but you do need to check that they are the correct person still.

Whether a name is supplied or not, it is one of your tasks to identify the most appropriate person at that site to interview. We want to speak to the most senior person at the site with responsibility for human resource and personnel issues.

At smaller establishments this is likely to be the owner or general manager, whilst at larger business sites there is likely to be someone with a designated personnel function.

Persuading people to take part (and outcome codes)

As well as the usual stressing of confidentiality etc the following should be noted, which may help persuade some to take part:

- It is the chance for them to input into research which will help planners develop policies to address employer skill needs

- If they want to check the survey is legitimate they can go to the UKCES website [http://www.ukces.org.uk/uk-employer-skills-survey/](http://www.ukces.org.uk/uk-employer-skills-survey/) – the text from the website is shown below. Additionally, if they type in ‘NESS 09’ in the ‘search’ function they can see copies of the report from the last NESS survey. We do have a contact at the UKCES (shown in the survey reassurances) but this should be given out sparingly as we do not want them flooded with calls.

- We can send a reassurance fax/email (a copy of this is attached for your reference)

- A report of the survey results will appear on the UKCES website in early 2012

- Respondents may say that they took part in the 2009 study, if this is that case we still want to interview them to update our information

If people are very busy currently then please arrange a date to call back when they should be quieter (the fieldwork goes on until early July 2011, so we are expecting very few ‘too busy during fieldwork’ outcomes).

If the respondent refuses, then we are interested to record if they say this is because this is company policy or because they have recently taken part in a survey (we are not asking this specifically, we are only recording this if they offer this reason spontaneously). If this reason is not spontaneously given then just record it as a straight refusal.

Note that there is another survey being carried out by BIS at the same time as this one. Establishments that appear in both surveys have been identified and should you be speaking to one some extra text will appear at S2 telling you that this is the case. You do not need to mention it to them, but if they say they are already signed up to a survey or something it is probably this one. You can reassure them that this is a different survey, and encourage them to complete both if they are able. The questionnaire

After screening questions, there are 8 sections to the questionnaire. (There is no section E.)

| Section | Description | |---------|-------------| | S | Screening questions | | A | Establishment details (“Firmographics”) | | B | Retention | | C | Recruitment & Recruitment Difficulties | | D | Demand for skills / Skills gaps | | E | There is no section E | | F | Workforce Development | | G | Skills utilisation / High performance working | | H | Business strategy and structure | | I | Closing questions | This section of the report reproduces the questionnaire as asked by telephone interviewers during the main stage of fieldwork. To give the most complete picture possible of our survey methodology, this version of the questionnaire also includes the additional briefing notes used by our fieldwork contractors to ensure consistent and high-quality outputs from each interview. These notes are appended below the relevant question and are presented in grey italics.

The questionnaire is also reproduced in a ‘clean’ version without the additional interviewer briefing as an appendix of the UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2011: UK Results, available on the UK Commission website (www.ukces.org.uk). S Screener

SCREENING OUTCOMES

Hard appointment Soft appointment Refusal Refusal (company policy) Refusal (taken part in recent survey) Nobody at site to answer questions Not available in deadline Residential number Dead line Company closed Company too small Out of quota

ASK TELEPHONIST

S1 Good morning / afternoon. My name is NAME and I'm calling from [COMPANY NAME]. Can I just check, is this [COMPANY NAME FROM SAMPLE]?

| Outcome | Code | |----------------------------------------------|------| | Yes – correct | 1 | | No – company name wrong | 2 | | Hard appointment | 3 | | Soft appointment | 4 | | Refusal | 5 | | Refusal – company policy | 6 | | Refusal – taken part in recent survey | 7 | | Residential Number | 8 | | Company closed | 9 |

CONTINUE

TAKE CORRECT COMPANY NAME AND CONTINUE

MAKE APPOINTMENT

CLOSE

S1 This is an establishment-based survey for which local and regional analysis will be paramount.

(i) If the company name has changed (compared to the one on screen) collect the new name and continue. (ii) do not take referrals to other sites or locations, we must talk to a person at the establishment specified on the sample.

The only exception to this is when the phone number on the sample is a central call centre (i.e. in the case of banks). You will not need to identify these; they have already been marked on the sample and if the number you are calling is a central call centre number the company address will appear with the company name. In these cases you must ask to be put through to the branch or site named. We do not want to interview somebody at the call centre location.

This is the only time you can be put through to a different site; if the company address does not appear with the company name you need to speak to someone at the site called.

Please take time to get familiar with the range of outcome codes. These appear at a number of places on the questionnaire.

S2 My name is NAME, calling from [COMPANY NAME], an independent market research company. We’re conducting a survey about recruitment, human resources and workplace skills. Can I speak to the most senior person at this establishment with responsibility for these sorts of issues?

INTERVIEWER NOTE: IF RESPONDENT ATTEMPTS TO TRANSFER TO SOMEONE AT ANOTHER SITE: We need to speak to someone at this site rather than someone at another branch or office of your organisation. Could I speak to the person at this site who would have the best overview of the skills that your establishment needs its workers to have?

| Outcome Code | Description | |--------------|-------------| | 1 | CONTINUE | | 2 | TRANSFER AND ASK S3 | | 3 | MAKE APPOINTMENT | | 4 | | | 5 | THANK AND CLOSE | | 6 | | | 7 | | | 8 | | | 9 | SHOW REASSURANCES |

74 In some cases respondents may state that there is no-one with single, overall responsibility for human resource and personnel issues, possibly because separate departments or areas of the business each have their own HR/Personnel function. In such cases, interviewers should ask to speak to the person with responsibility for the largest number of employees AND seek to obtain best estimate responses relating to the entire establishment.

Equally, it may be the case that respondents state that responsibility for issues lies with someone at another location, such as the company HQ. This is particularly likely to be the case with chains of establishments (e.g. retail chains, high street banks, etc.). As above, we cannot take referrals to other locations, so you will need to ask to speak to the person at the site with the best overview – this is likely to be job functions such as branch manager, general manager, site manager, office manager, etc.

In some cases we have named sample. These are people who completed the survey in 2009 and are happy to be re-contacted. Please ask for this person in the first instance, and try to make an appointment if they are not available. If they no longer work at the establishment, or the name is not recognised please ask for the person at the establishment that has the greatest involvement in recruitment, human resources and workplace skills.

ASK ALL

S3 IF TRANSFERRED AT S2: Good morning/afternoon, my name is NAME and I am calling from [COMPANY NAME], an independent research organisation.

ALL: We are conducting a survey on behalf of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and its partners including [ENGLAND: the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) WALES: the Welsh Assembly Government SCOTLAND: the Scottish Government NI: the Northern Ireland Assembly].

The information will be used to inform government of the skill needs of businesses. Your assistance will ensure that the views expressed are representative of all employers in your industry.

The interview will take on average 25 minutes depending on the answers given. Would it be convenient to conduct the interview now?

IF WERS=1: INTERVIEWER NOTE: THIS ESTABLISHMENT MAY HAVE RECENTLY BEEN CONTACTED FOR BIS WORKFORCE EMPLOYEE RELATIONS SURVEY. IF NECESSARY REASSURE THIS SURVEY IS DIFFERENT AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN BOTH

| Yes – continue | 1 | CONTINUE | |----------------|---|----------| | Definite Appointment | 2 | MAKE DEFINITE APPOINTMENT | | Soft appointment | 3 | MAKE SOFT CALL BACK | | Refusal | 4 | THANK AND CLOSE | | Refusal – company policy | 5 | | The interview will take around 25 minutes to complete. Please note that all data will be reported in aggregate form and your answers will not be reported to our client in any way that would allow you to be identified.

If respondent wishes to confirm validity of survey or get more information about aims and objectives, they can call:

- MRS: Market Research Society on 0500 39 69 99
- [IFF: Catherine Riley or John Newton on 0207 250 3035] – COMPANY CONTACTS
- UKCES: Dr Susannah Constable on 020 7881 8933

**ASK ALL WELSH (COUNTRY=4)**

**S4) Would you prefer the interview to be carried out in Welsh or English?**

| Language | Option | |----------|--------| | Welsh | 1 | AGREE CONVENIENT TIME FOR WELSH CALL BACK | | English | 2 | CONTINUE |

**S3**

*If the respondent needs reassurance about the survey a list of reassurances can be brought up on screen by selecting the ‘wants reassurances’ option.*

*If the respondent requires proof that the survey is legitimate there is a reassurance email/fax available, or you can direct them to the UKCES website which will have an area set up regarding this survey and also shows results for the NESS09 survey (type in ness 2009’ to the search option on the website).*

**S4**

*Welsh respondents will get the option here to complete the survey in Welsh; if this is required then transfer to a Welsh interviewer to continue.*

**DUMMOD:** APPLIES TO ENGLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND AND WALES ONLY (COUNTRY=1, 2, 4):

**DUMMY QUESTION TO SET MODULE**

| Module | Option | |--------|--------| | Module 1 (50% of sample assigned randomly) | 1 | | Module 2 (50% of sample assigned randomly) | 2 | A Firmographics

ASK ALL

A1 First, some questions about your organisation and the site at which you work.

How many people work at this establishment? Please include both full-time and part-time employees on your payroll and any working proprietors or owners, but exclude the self-employed and outside contractor or agency staff.

INTERVIEWER NOTE: NON-EMPLOYEE TRAINERS AND EMPLOYEES UNDER 16 SHOULD BE EXCLUDED. PROBE FOR BEST ESTIMATE AND RECORD NUMBER CLOSE IF DON'T KNOW / REFUSED

A1DUM) CATI TO CODE RANGE AUTOMATICALLY AND CHECK QUOTA

| 1 | 1 | ASK A2A | |-----|---|---------| | 2-4 | 2 | | | 5-9 | 3 | | | 10-24 | 4 | | | 25-49 | 5 | | | 50-99 | 6 | | | 100-249 | 7 | | | 250 or more | 8 | |

ASK IF A1=1

A2a And do you own all or any part of the organisation?

| Yes | 1 | CLOSE | |-----|---|-------| | No | 2 | CONTINUE |

ASK ALL

A3 Is this establishment..? READ OUT. SINGLE CODE.

| The only establishment in the organisation, or | 1 | GO TO A6 | |-----------------------------------------------|---|---------| | One of a number of establishments within a larger organisation | 2 | ASK A4 |

“DUMMOD” is a dummy question (i.e. it will not appear on your screen) which assigns the sample to either “module 1” or “module 2”. Some of the questions in this survey are only asked to half of the sample – i.e. they are only asked to those assigned to module 1 or to module 2. This is to control the length of the questionnaire – by only asking some questions to half of the sample we can cut the length for the other half and vice versa. A1 is required to establish sizeband and quota. If the respondent says “don’t know” or “refuse” here then the survey will close, so please encourage them to give a best estimate even if they are unsure of the exact figure.

We are including all those on the payroll and any owners or part-owners, but excluding self-employed and those working for contractors / an agency.

Both full and part-time staff should be included.

Partners in a partnership (e.g. in a law firm) should be included.

Please remember that this survey is establishment based; respondents should only be thinking about the number of staff at that particular site. Please be very careful to enter the number accurately as it will drive logic checks later in the questionnaire and will slow the interview down considerably if you need to skip back to this question to correct an error.

A2a is intended to filter out businesses that do NOT have any employees (i.e. there is one person only who owns or part owns the business). If there is only one person at the site A2A will be asked to check whether they own all or any part of the organisation; if they say yes, the survey will close.

ASK IF MULTI-SITE ORGANISATION (A3=2)

A4 Can I just check, is this site..? READ OUT, CODE ONE ONLY

| A branch | 1 | |-------------------|---| | A division | 2 | | A subsidiary | 3 | | An area / regional office | 4 | | The head office | 5 | | A franchised organisation | 6 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Other (specify) | 7 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know | X |

ASK IF MULTISITE BUT NOT HEAD OFFICE (A3=2 AND A4≠5)

In which country are the headquarters of your organisation based? PROMPT AS NECESSARY. CODE ONE ONLY.

| England | 1 | |------------------|---| | Scotland | 2 | | Wales | 3 | | Northern Ireland | 4 | | Outside the UK | 5 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know | X | ASK IF MULTI-SITE ORGANISATION (A3=2)

A5 And how many people work across your organisation in the UK as a whole? ADD IF NECESSARY: By that I mean both full-time and part-time employees on your payroll, as well as any working proprietors or owners. PROBE FOR BEST ESTIMATE AND RECORD NUMBER – ONLY ALLOW NUMBERS EQUAL TO OR LARGER THAN GIVEN AT ESTABLISHMENT SIZE QUESTION (A1) UNLESS A4=5 OR A4A=5 IN WHICH CASE A5=A1 IS ALSO ALLOWED IF DK, PROMPT WITH RANGES (DO NOT ALLOW RANGES SMALLER THAN THE RANGE GIVEN AT A1DUM) (IF ANSWER GIVEN, CATI CODE RANGES AUTOMATICALLY)

A5RAN

| Range | Code | |---------|------| | 2-4 | 1 | | 5-9 | 2 | | 10-24 | 3 | | 25-49 | 4 | | 50-249 | 5 | | Over 250| 6 | | Don’t know | X |

A4-A5 These questions are to get some context about how this establishment fits into the organisation as a whole. The most important distinction to capture at A4 is whether they are the head office or not.

A5 asks about how many people their organisation employs in total IN THE UK – so not including any employees based overseas. A best estimate will do if they are unsure of the exact figure.

IF MULTI-SITE ORGANISATION (A3=2): From now on, when I use the word ‘establishment’, I mean the site at which you work.

ASK ALL

A6 I have [SIC DESCRIPTION ON SAMPLE] as a general classification for your establishment. Does this sound about right?

| Response | Code | Action | |----------|------|--------| | Yes | 1 | GO TO A8 | | No | 2 | ASK A7 |

IF NO (A6=2):

A7 How would you describe the main business activity of this establishment? PROBE FULLY: What is the main product or service of this establishment? What exactly is made or done at this establishment? What material or machinery does that involve using? Who does it sell its product/services to?

WRITE IN. MUST CODE TO 4-DIGIT SIC07. A6-A7 These Qs check the main business activity of the establishment (as opposed to their whole organisation). A broad classification will appear (taken from information supplied by the Experian Database) and we check that this broad classification is correct. Please note that this is a general classification and we check at A6 if this ‘sounds about right’.

If not, please write in the main activity of the site at A7 so it can be coded later. This information needs to be detailed so that we can code to 4 digit SIC (i.e. ‘Manufacturing’ or ‘retail’ will not be sufficient. We need to know what they manufacture or what they sell, who they supply to etc. We will discuss this in more detail at the briefing.)

ASK ALL A8 Would you classify your organisation as one ...? READ OUT. CODE ONE ONLY

| MAINLY seeking to make a profit | 1 | | A charity or voluntary sector organisation or a social enterprise | 2 | | A local-government financed body | 3 | | ADD IF NECESSARY: such as a school or a body delivering leisure, transport, social care, waste or environmental health services | | A central government financed body | 4 | | ADD IF NECESSARY: such as the Civil Service, any part of the NHS, a college or university, the Armed Services, an Executive Agency or other non-departmental public bodies | | DO NOT READ OUT: None of the above, other (specify) | 5 |

IF MULTI-SITE ORGANISATION AND NOT HEAD OFFICE (A3=2 AND A4≠5) A9 Thinking about decisions relating to recruitment and training, would you say that they are...? READ OUT. CODE ONE ONLY.

| Taken solely by your establishment | 1 | | Taken primarily at head office but your establishment has a lot of input | 2 | | Taken primarily at head office but your establishment has some input | 3 | | Taken solely by head office | 4 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know | X |

A8 This question classifies the activities of the establishment. There are very few establishments which should legitimately answer ‘none of the above/other’ at A8. ‘Seeking a profit’ covers almost all private sector establishments; it doesn’t matter whether they are actually making a profit or not!

Schools are locally government financed, so should be given code ‘3’ at A8. If the respondent does answer ‘none of the above/other’ at A8 they will be asked to classify the activities of the organisation. Answers such as ‘plumber/hairdresser/hospital’ are not acceptable here, please probe to find a classification regarding how they are funded and their organisational aims (if not to make a profit, then what?).

IF PRIVATE SECTOR WITH MORE THAN ONE PERSON WORKING THERE (A1>1 AND A8=1 OR 5):

A9A Of the [NUMBER FROM A1] people who work at this site, how many own all or any part of the organisation?

PROBE FOR BEST ESTIMATE AND RECORD NUMBER. ALLOW 0-A1.

DP: IF AT THIS STAGE RESPONDENT NEEDS TO CHANGE THEIR ANSWER TO A1 INSERT DUMMY QUESTION WHICH OVERWRITES A1 WITHOUT INTERVIEWER NEEDING TO SNAP BACK

DUMSEG

DUMMY QUESTION TO DETERMINE SAMPLE SEGMENT

| 2+ EMPLOYEES OR 1+ WORKING PROPRIETORS AND 1 EMPLOYEE | 1 | A1>1 AND (A1 MINUS A9A > 0) | |-------------------------------------------------------|---|-----------------------------| | 2+ WORKING PROPRIETORS 0 EMPLOYEES | 2 | A1>1 AND (A1 MINUS A9A = 0) | | 1 EMPLOYEE 0 WORKING PROPRIETORS | 3 | A1=1 AND A2a=2 | | 1 WORKING PROPRIETOR 0 EMPLOYEES | 4 | A1=1 AND A2a=1 |

ASK ALL

A10 IF PRIVATE SECTOR (A8=1): Are your products or services primarily sold...? IF PUBLIC/THIRD SECTOR (A8=2-5): Does your establishment primarily serve the population...?

READ OUT. CODE ONE ONLY.

| Locally – within an individual town or local area | 1 | | Regionally – within a specific area of [England/Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland] | 2 | | Nationally – within [England/Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland] | 3 | | Within the UK | 4 | | Internationally – outside the UK | 5 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know | X | | DO NOT READ OUT: Not applicable | Y | A9A If they have more than one person working there and are in the private sector, we check how many people who work there own all or any part of the business.

The respondent should have included these owners when they answered A1, therefore the range allowed is 0-A1.

A10 A10 establishes what markets they operate in. The text sub will come up with the relevant country – please make sure you read out the whole of each code to make sure respondents answer consistently. B Retention / Retention Difficulties

Next, some questions about your existing workforce.

ASK MODULE 2 AND SCOTLAND (DUMMOD=2 OR COUNTRY=3)

B1 Compared to 12 months ago, has the number of people employed at this establishment... ? READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY.

| Remained about the same, | 1 | |--------------------------|---| | Increased | 2 | | Decreased | 3 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Was not in business 12 months ago | 4 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don't know | X |

B2 THERE IS NO QUESTION B2

ASK ENGLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND AND WALES (COUNTRY=1, 2 OR 4) (SCOTLAND SKIP TO SECTION C)

B3 Are there particular jobs in which you have difficulties retaining staff?

INTERVIEWER - RETENTION DIFFICULTIES ARE WHEN A HIGH NUMBER OF STAFF LEAVE (BUT NOT AS A DIRECT RESULT OF DOWNSIZING OR REDUNDANCY)

| Yes | 1 | Ask B3A | |-----|---|---------| | No | 2 | Go to C1 | | Don't know | 3 |

ASK IF DIFFICULT TO RETAIN STAFF B3=1

B3A Which is the occupation in which you have the MOST difficulty retaining staff?

WRITE IN. PROMPT FOR FULL DETAILS (E.G. IF ‘MANAGER’ PROBE: WHAT TYPE OF MANAGER?) CODE TO SOC 2010 3 DIGITS

Section B

Section B covers retention. Other than B1, the retention questions are not asked in Scotland.

B1

Question B1 is comparing the total number of staff now, to the total number of staff 12 months ago. There is an option to code that they were not in business 12 months ago if they are a new company for whom therefore this question is not relevant. B3 By “difficulties retaining staff”, we mean any occupations where there is a high staff turnover, that is, lots of staff leave of their own accord (not due to seasonal contracts, or the organisation letting them go).

B3A Take full detail of the occupation – if they say “manager” what type of manager, if they say “supervisor” who are they supervising? “Factory worker” – what sort of factory? What is their role? (operating machinery, quality control?), Cleaner – what do they clean? etc. We need enough detail to code to SOC 3 digits.

B4 Which of the following are the main reasons why it is difficult to retain staff in this occupation? READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY. ROTATE ANSWER LIST

| Reason | Code | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------|------| | Wages offered are lower than those offered by other firms | 1 | | Impact of the benefits trap | 2 | | Geographic location of the firm | 3 | | Unattractive conditions of employment | 4 | | Lack of career progression | 5 | | Long/unsocial hours | 6 | | Too much competition from other employers | 7 | | Not enough people interested in doing this type of work | 8 | | Staff don't want long term commitment | 9 | | Are there any other key reasons why it is difficult to retain staff | 10 |

B5 What measures, if any, have you taken to overcome the retention difficulties in this occupation? DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY

| Measure | Code | |------------------------------------------------------------------------|------| | Offered higher pay or more incentives than normal | 1 | | Introduced job enrichment | 2 | | Introduced further training/development opportunities | 3 | | Improved career progression | 4 | | Provided assistance with travel | 5 | | Provided assistance with childcare | 6 | | Introduced flexible working hours | 7 | | Changed the job specification by giving some of the tasks to other staff| 8 | | Changed the job specification by automating some of the tasks | 9 | B4 B4 is a read out list that will be rotated to appear in a different order each time. Code all that apply, and if they have any other reasons at the end then you can type those in. Explanations of some codes: "Impact of the benefits trap": the benefits trap is where some people find they are better off on benefits than they are working. This might affect jobs where wages are low and working hours short / part-time. "Unattractive conditions of employment" – e.g. amount of holiday, benefits, working conditions

B5 B5 asks what measures they have taken to overcome their retention difficulties. It is a “Do not read out” list so you will need to code what they say into the necessary answers, plus there is an other specify for use as required.

Take some time before the survey to familiarise yourself with this list to help you when you come to the interview. Explanations of some codes: "Introduced job enrichment" – e.g. expanded / varied the tasks involved in the job or otherwise to make the job more attractive.

B6 Have the retention difficulties in this occupation caused...? READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY. ROTATE ANSWER LIST

| Loss of business to competitors | 1 | |--------------------------------|---| | Restriction to business development activities | 2 | | Increased running costs (for example use of excess overtime subcontracting or use of temporary staff etc) | 3 | | More strain on management of existing staff in covering the shortage | 4 | | An increase in recruitment costs due to more advertising or use of a recruitment agency | 5 | | Difficulties with quality | 6 | | Difficulties with customer service | 7 | | Loss of efficiency or increased wastage | 8 | | Difficulties with accommodating technological change | 9 | | Difficulties with introducing new working practices | 10 | | Anything else? (WRITE IN) | 12 | | Retention difficulties have not affected the business (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 11 | B6

B6 is another read out list – please code all answers that apply and add anything else they say to the other specify at the end.

Explanations of some codes: “Difficulties with quality” – this could be of goods provided or level of service offered (this differs from customer service, e.g. in a hairdressers quality would be how good they were at cutting hair, customer service would be how good they are at dealing with customers on a personal level). C Recruitment & Recruitment Difficulties

ASK ALL

C1 Moving on to recruitment. In the last 2-3 years, has this site taken on anyone to their first job on leaving school, college or university?

| Yes | 1 | ASK C2 | |-----|---|--------| | No | 2 | Go to C6 | | Don’t know | X | |

IF RECRUITED EDUCATION-LEAVERS AND ENGLAND, NI OR WALES (C1=1 AND COUNTRY=1, 2 OR 4) – NOTE: ASK C2 AND C2A IN A LOOP (C2i, C2Ai,C2ii, C2aii ETC)

C2 Have any of these been...

| Yes | No | Don’t know | |-----|----|------------| | i) 16 year olds recruited to their first job on leaving school [IF NECESSARY ADD: Who have undertaken compulsory education but no more] | 1 | 2 | 3 | | ii) 17 or 18 year olds recruited to their first job from school | 1 | 2 | 3 | | iii) 17 or 18 year olds recruited to their first job from FE College | 1 | 2 | 3 | | iv) Recruited to their first job from University or another Higher Education institution | 1 | 2 | 3 |

FOR EACH “YES” AT C2:

C2A Were any of these recruited by your establishment in the last 12 months?

| Yes | No | Don’t know | |-----|----|------------| | i) 16 year olds recruited to their first job on leaving school [IF NECESSARY ADD: Who have undertaken compulsory education but no more] | 1 | 2 | 3 | | ii) 17 or 18 year olds recruited to their first job from school | 1 | 2 | 3 | | iii) 17 or 18 year olds recruited to their first job from FE College | 1 | 2 | 3 | | iv) Recruited to their first job from University or another Higher Education institution | 1 | 2 | 3 | All are asked section C.

C1 C1 asks about people being taken on to their FIRST job after leaving education. This means that we are interested in any people who have not had any other job between leaving school/college/university; it is okay if they have had a gap year or student job, or were unemployed for a period of time.

C2-3A are asked of England, Wales and NI. Scotland have a slightly different version of this question.

Respondents will be asked for each iteration whether they have taken any on in the last 2-3 years, then if they say yes whether any of these have been in the last 12 months.

Note: FE College = Further Education College – a college for those 16+ that is not a school sixth form.

IF RECRUITED DIRECTLY FROM EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENTS LISTED AT C2 (C2(ANY)=1)

C3 Thinking of those recruited in the last 2-3 years, how well prepared for work have the...

• (C2i=1) 16 year old school leavers been? • (C2ii=1) 17-18 year olds you recruited to their first job from school been? • (C2iii=1) 17-18 year olds you recruited to their first job from FE Colleges been? • (C2iv=1) university or higher education leavers been?

READ OUT FOR EACH

| | | |--------------------------|---| | Very well prepared | 1 | | Well prepared | 2 | | Poorly prepared | 3 | | Or very poorly prepared | 4 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know | X | | DO NOT READ OUT: Varies too much to say | Y |

ASK IF POORLY OR VERY POORLY PREPARED FOR EACH ITERATION OF C3 (C3=3-4).

C3A In what ways have they been poorly prepared?

DO NOT READ OUT. PROBE FULLY. CODE ALL THAT APPLY.

| | | |------------------------------------------------------|---| | Lack required skills or competencies (e.g. technical or job specific skills, IT skills, problem solving skills, team working skills) | 1 | | Literacy/numeracy skills | 2 | | Poor education | 3 | | Lack of common sense | 4 | Poor attitude / personality or lack of motivation (e.g. poor work ethic, punctuality, appearance, manners) | 5 Lack of working world / life experience or maturity (including general knowledge) | 6 Other (WRITE IN) | 7 Don’t know (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | X

C3 / C3A follows up all “yes” answers at C2, asking how well prepared they have been for work.

C3A This list is “do not read out” so please familiarise yourself with this list to make it easier for you during the interview. There is an other specify option for use as required.

Explanations of some codes:

“Poor education” more general than literacy/numeracy skills “lack of working world / life experience / maturity” – indicates they are just generally not ready for the responsibilities of having a job.

IF RECRUITED EDUCATION-LEAVERS AND SCOTLAND (C1=1 AND COUNTRY=3) ASK C3B / C3C IN A LOOP

C3B Have any of these been recruited to their first job from...

| | Yes | No | Don't know | |----------------------|-----|----|------------| | i) A Scottish secondary school | 1 | 2 | 3 | | ii) A Scottish FE College | 1 | 2 | 3 | | iii) A Scottish University | 1 | 2 | 3 |

FOR EACH “YES” AT C3B:

C3C Have any of these recruits been taken on to their first job from [ITERATION TEXT] in the last 12 months?

| | Yes | No | Don't know | |----------------------|-----|----|------------| | i) A Scottish secondary school | 1 | 2 | 3 | | ii) A Scottish FE College | 1 | 2 | 3 | | iii) A Scottish University | 1 | 2 | 3 |

IF RECRUITED DIRECTLY FROM EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENTS LISTED AT C3B (C3B(ANY)=1)

C3D Thinking of those recruited in the last 2-3 years to their first job on leaving

- (C3Bi=1) a Scottish secondary school,
- (C3Bii=1) a Scottish FE college,
- (C3Biii=1) a Scottish University,

...in relation to their preparedness for work would you say that they were...? READ OUT FOR EACH

| | | |--------------------------|---| | Very well prepared | 1 | | Well prepared | 2 | | Poorly prepared | 3 | | Or very poorly prepared | 4 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know | X | | DO NOT READ OUT: Varies too much to say | 5 |

C3B to C4A replicate the previous questions but for Scotland and are based on only those recruited from SCOTTISH educational institutions.

ASK IF POORLY OR VERY POORLY PREPARED FOR EACH ITERATION OF C3D (C3D=3-4).

C4A In what ways have they been poorly prepared?

DO NOT READ OUT. PROBE FULLY. CODE ALL THAT APPLY.

| | | |-----------------------------------------------------------------|---| | Lack required skills or competencies (e.g. technical or job specific skills, IT skills, problem solving skills, team working skills) | 1 | | Literacy/numeracy skills | 2 | | Poor education | 3 | | Lack of common sense | 4 | | Poor attitude / personality or lack of motivation (e.g. poor work ethic, punctuality, appearance, manners) | 5 | | Lack of working world / life experience or maturity (including general knowledge) | 6 | | Other (WRITE IN) | 7 | | Don’t know (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | X |

C5 THERE IS NO QUESTION C5

ASK ALL

C6 How many vacancies, if any, do you CURRENTLY have at this establishment?

PROBE FOR BEST ESTIMATE

WRITE IN NUMBER \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ALLOW DON’T KNOW

IF C6 > 100 ASK:

C6chk I’ve recorded that as <insert number from C6>, is this correct?

| | | |-------|---| | Yes | 1 | | No | 2 |

ASK ALL WITH ANY VACANCIES AT C6. OTHERS GO TO D1. This question refers to current vacancies only. C7 onwards allows you to record up to 6 types of vacancies. Make sure you enter this number correctly as later they will be asked how many vacancies for each occupation and if it does not add up you will need to repeat the question.

Please note: if you are talking to a Jobcentre or recruitment agency, we are looking for the number of vacancies for Jobcentre staff not vacancies it has posted for unemployed people more generally.

If the figure given at C6 (total number of vacancies) is very high (>100) we check this at C6chk.

C7 In which specific occupations do you currently have [C6>1: vacancies C6=1 a vacancy] at this establishment?

PROMPT FOR FULL DETAILS (E.G. IF ‘MANAGER’ PROBE: WHAT TYPE OF MANAGER?) RECORD DETAILS FOR UP TO 6 OCCUPATIONS. CODE TO SOC2010 4 DIGITS

DUMVAC CATI DUMMY VARIABLE – LIST OF UP TO 6 OCCUPATIONS WITH VACANCIES

IF >1 OCCUPATION WITH VACANCIES AT C7, ASK C8. OTHERS GO TO C9.

C8 How many vacancies do you have for <EACH OCCUPATION AT C7>?

PROBE FOR BEST ESTIMATE

INTERVIEWER: [ANSWER FROM C5 MINUS TOTAL AT C8 SO FAR] VACANCIES REMAINING

DP – DO NOT ALLOW DON’T KNOW. ANSWER MUST BE AT LEAST 1

| Occupation 1 - | (1-9999) | | Occupation 2 - | (1-9999) | | Occupation 3 - | (1-9999) | | Occupation 4 - | (1-9999) | | Occupation 5 - | (1-9999) | | Occupation 6 - | (1-9999) |

CATI CHECK: TOTAL OF ALL VACANCIES AT C8 MUST SUM TO C6 (UNLESS GIVE 6 OCCUPATIONS IN WHICH CASE TOTAL CANNOT BE GREATER THAN C6).

IF FAIL CATI CHECK: PROMPT RESPONDENT WITH … This sums to <INSERT C8 SUM> but you just told me that you had <INSERT C6> vacancies in total… THEN RE-ASK C6, C7 AND 8

C7 Please type in details of the occupation(s) with vacancies. We need this to be detailed – ‘managers’ will not be enough, we would need to know the type of manager; purchasing, sales etc. It needs to be possible to code this to SOC 4 digits – that is the level of “Cab driver” versus “Bus driver” versus “Lorry driver” versus “Hearse driver” – quite detailed. This will be covered in more detail at the briefing.

C8 This needs to sum to the number of vacancies at C6 – if it does not you will be taken back to C6 to answer the questions again. (if 6 vacancy occupations are given at C7 then it can be less than the answer given at C6 because there may be vacancies in other occupations we have not asked about).

ASK ALL WITH VACANCIES AT C6 (C6>0)

C9 [IF C6>1: Are any of these vacancies IF C6=1: Is this vacancy] proving hard to fill?

| Yes | 1 | ASK C10 | |-----|---|---------| | No | 2 | GO TO D1 | | Don’t know | 3 | GO TO D1 |

ASK IF HAVE MORE THAN ONE VACANCY AND HAVE HARD TO FILL VACANCIES (C9=1 AND C6>1); IF ONLY HAVE ONE VACANCY AND HAVE HARD TO FILL VACANCY CATI AUTOMATICALLY CODE C10=OCCUPATION FROM C7.

C10 How many of your vacancies for <TEXT SUBSTITUTION: OCCUPATION AT C7> are proving hard-to-fill?

CATI – SHOW ON SCREEN NUMBER OF VACANCIES FOR EACH OCCUPATION AT C7. ANSWER GIVEN MUST BE BETWEEN 0 AND C8 RESPONSE

| Occupation 1 - | (0 – RESPONSE AT C8_1) | | Occupation 2 - | (0 – RESPONSE AT C8_2) | | Occupation 3 - | (0 – RESPONSE AT C8_3) | | Occupation 4 - | (0 – RESPONSE AT C8_4) | | Occupation 5 - | (0 – RESPONSE AT C8_5) | | Occupation 6 - | (0 – RESPONSE AT C8_6) |

CATI CHECK: NUMBER OF HARD TO FILL VACANCIES MUST SUM TO > 0 AT C10.

IF FAIL CATI CHECK: PROMPT RESPONDENT WITH: You told me earlier that you had vacancies that were hard-to-fill but I have not recorded any of them here... THEN RE-ASK C9

C10DUM CATI DUMMY VARIABLE – LIST OF UP TO 6 OCCUPATIONS WITH HARD-TO-FILL VACANCIES C10 If the answer to all of C10 is 0 yet they have said they have vacancies that are hard to fill, then you are taken back to C9 to change either C9 or C10 as applicable.

ASK C11A – C13 IN SEQUENCE FOR UP TO 6 OCCUPATIONS > 0 AT C10 (I.E. OCCUPATIONS WITH HARD-TO-FILL VACANCIES) NB IF C6=1 AND C9=YES, ASK ABOUT OCCUPATION FROM C7

C11A What are the main causes of having a hard to fill vacancy for [TEXT SUBSTITUTION: OCCUPATION WITH HARD TO FILL VACANCY AT C10]? DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY

| Causes of Hard-to-Fill Vacancies | Occ 1 | Occ 2 | Occ 3 | Occ 4 | Occ 5 | Occ 6 | |----------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | Too much competition from other employers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Not enough people interested in doing this type of job | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | | Poor terms and conditions (e.g. pay) offered for post | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | | Low number of applicants with the required skills | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | | Low number of applicants with the required attitude, motivation or personality | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | | Low number of applicants generally | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | | Lack of work experience the company demands | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | | Lack of qualifications the company demands | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | | Poor career progression / lack of prospects | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | | Job entails shift work/unsociable hours | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | | Seasonal work | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | | Remote location/poor public transport | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | | Other (WRITE IN) | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | | No particular reason (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | | Don’t know (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | X | X | X | X | X | X |

C11A Please note this list is “do not read out”. Please do not write “same as before” in the other specify – please write out the reason again even if it is the same as for the previous occupation.

ASK C11B FOR EACH OCCUPATION WHERE VACANCIES ARE HARD-TO-FILL BUT WHERE ONE OF CODE 4 OR 7 OR 8 AT C11A NOT MENTIONED (IF ALL HARD-TO-FILL OCCUPATIONS CODED 4, 7 OR 8 AT C11a, GO TO C13)

C11B Can I just check, are you finding [IF (SUM OF C10)=1: this vacancy IF SUM OF C10>1: any of these vacancies] for <OCCUPATION FROM C10> hard to fill because... READ OUT; CODE ONE ONLY

| Causes of Hard-to-Fill Vacancies | Occ 1 | Occ 2 | Occ 3 | Occ 4 | Occ 5 | Occ 6 | |----------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | Applicants have not been of sufficient quality | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Because there have been few or no applicants | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | | Or for both of these reasons | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ASK FOR ALL HARD-TO-FILL VACANCIES CAUSED BY LACK OF QUALITY (C11b=1 OR 3)

C12 You said that you have had problems with the quality of the candidates for [OCCUPATION]. Would you say that they have been lacking...

READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY.

| The skills you look for | Occ 1 | Occ 2 | Occ 3 | Occ 4 | Occ 5 | Occ 6 | |-------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

| The qualifications you look for | Occ 1 | Occ 2 | Occ 3 | Occ 4 | Occ 5 | Occ 6 | |---------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |

| The work experience that you require | Occ 1 | Occ 2 | Occ 3 | Occ 4 | Occ 5 | Occ 6 | |--------------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |

| Or do applicants tend to have poor attitudes, motivation and/or personality | Occ 1 | Occ 2 | Occ 3 | Occ 4 | Occ 5 | Occ 6 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |

| DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | Occ 1 | Occ 2 | Occ 3 | Occ 4 | Occ 5 | Occ 6 | |------------------------------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | | X | X | X | X | X | X |

ASK FOR EACH OCCUPATION WITH HARD-TO-FILL VACANCIES CAUSED BY LACK OF SKILLS (C12=1, 2 OR 3 OR C11a=4, 7 OR 8)

C13 Have you found any of the following skills difficult to obtain from applicants for <TEXT SUBSTITUTION: OCCUPATION WITH SKILLS SHORTAGE VACANCY>?

READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY

DP – ROTATE ORDER OF SKILLS (APART FROM IT SKILLS WHICH MUST ALWAYS APPEAR TOGETHER WITH BASIC IT USER SKILLS FIRST, FOLLOWED BY ADVANCED IT SKILLS. TECHNICAL & PRACTICAL SKILLS, JOB SPECIFIC SKILLS, ANY OTHER SKILLS, NONE & DON’T KNOW MUST ALWAYS APPEAR LAST).

| Occupations with hard to fill vacancies | Occ 1 | Occ 2 | Occ 3 | Occ 4 | Occ 5 | Occ 6 | |----------------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | Basic computer literacy / using IT | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Advanced IT or software skills | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | | Oral communication skills | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | | Written communication skills | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | | Customer handling skills | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | | Team working skills | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | | WALES: Written Welsh language skills | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | | WALES: Oral Welsh language skills | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | | Foreign language skills | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | | Problem solving skills | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | | Planning and Organisation skills | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | | Skill Category | Code 1 | Code 2 | Code 3 | Code 4 | Code 5 | Code 6 | |--------------------------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------| | Strategic Management skills | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | | Numeracy skills | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | | Literacy skills | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | | Office admin skills | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | | Technical or practical skills | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | | Job specific skills | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | | Any other skills (WRITE IN) | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | | DO NOT READ OUT: No particular skills difficulties (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | X | X | X | X | X | X |

C13 is a read out list.

ASK ALL WITH HARD-TO-FILL VACANCIES (C9=1)

C14 Are hard-to-fill vacancies causing this establishment to...? READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY

DP – RANDOMISE ORDER APART FROM “OTHER”/“NONE”/DON’T KNOW.

| Difficulty | Code | |------------------------------------------------|------| | Lose business or orders to competitors | 1 | | Delay developing new products or services | 2 | | Have difficulties meeting quality standards | 3 | | Experience increased operating costs | 4 | | Have difficulties introducing new working practices | 5 | | Increase workload for other staff | 6 | | Outsource work | 7 | | Withdraw from offering certain products or services altogether | 8 | | Have difficulties meeting customer services objectives | 9 | | Have difficulties introducing technological change | 10 | | DO NOT READ OUT: None (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 11 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | X |

ASK ALL WITH HARD-TO-FILL VACANCIES (C9=1)

C15 What, if anything, is this establishment doing to overcome the difficulties that you are having finding candidates to fill these hard-to-fill vacancies? DO NOT READ OUT. PROBE FULLY. CODE ALL THAT APPLY. INTERVIEWER NOTE: If the respondent mentions advertising or recruitment please probe to fully understand whether they are using a new method of recruitment (code 6), spending more money on recruitment (code 4), or both.

| Option | Code | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------|------| | Increasing salaries | 1 | | Increasing the training given to your existing workforce | 2 | | Redefining existing jobs | 3 | | Increasing advertising / recruitment spend | 4 | | Increasing / expanding trainee programmes | 5 | | Using NEW recruitment methods or channels | 6 | | Recruiting workers who are non-UK nationals | 7 | | Bringing in contractors to do the work, or contracting it out | 8 | | Being prepared to offer training to less well qualified recruits | 9 | | Other (WRITE IN) | 10 | | Nothing (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 11 | | Don’t know (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | X |

C14 is a read out list

C15 is a “do not read out” list – please take some time to familiarise yourself with it, and probe fully during the interview.

Note, if the respondent says “advertising” or “recruitment” please probe to fully understand whether they are using a new method of recruitment (code 6), spending more money on recruitment (code 4), or both. D Demand for Skills / Skills Gaps

I'd now like to turn to the skills within your existing workforce.

ASK ALL

D1 Thinking now about your <INSERT NUMBER OF STAFF FROM A1> current staff, roughly how many of them are qualified to degree level equivalent or above?

ENTER NUMBER \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ALLOW 0 TO A1

Don't know X

IF NOT ALL STAFF HAVE DEGREE LEVEL QUAL (D1\<A1 OR D1=DK)

D1A And roughly how many of your [IF D1>0: remaining] <TOTAL NUMBER OF STAFF MINUS D1> staff hold an HND, HNC or Foundation degree?

INTERVIEWER NOTE: FOUNDATION DEGREES ARE NOT OFFERED IN SCOTLAND

ENTER NUMBER \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ALLOW 0 TO (A1 MINUS D1 (IF D1=DK COUNT AS 0))

Don't know X

D1A This interviewer note regarding foundation degrees is only relevant to those interviewing Scottish employers.

IF NOT ALL STAFF HAVE LEVEL 4+ QUAL (D1+D1A\<A1 OR D1 AND D1A=DK)

D2 And roughly how many of your [IF D1+D1A>0: remaining] \<TOTAL NUMBER OF STAFF MINUS (D1+D1A)> staff hold a Level 3 qualification? By this we mean qualifications such as A / AS Levels, Highers, NVQ Level 3, SVQ Level 3, Advanced level Welsh Baccalaureate, OND / ONC / BTEC nationals or equivalent level qualifications.

ENTER NUMBER \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ALLOW 0 TO [IF D1>0: A1-D1. IF D1=DK: A1]

Don't know X

D3 THERE IS NO QUESTION D3

ASK MODULE 1 AND SCOTLAND (DUMMOD=1 OR COUNTRY=3)

D4 And does your establishment have any of the following pay and incentive schemes for your employees?

READ OUT; CODE ALL THAT APPLY

| Bonuses that are based on the overall performance of the company | 1 | | Individual performance related pay | 2 | | **Flexible benefits** (ADD IF NECESSARY: This is the option to use some pre-tax pay for extra benefits such as pensions, childcare vouchers, life assurance etc) | 3 | | IF PRIVATE SECTOR (A8=1): Share options for employees BELOW SENIOR MANAGEMENT | 4 | ASK ALL

D5 Now I need to understand the different roles that your existing staff currently fill at this establishment. You said earlier that there were <INSERT NUMBER FROM A1> staff at this establishment. How many of these are employed as managers, directors or senior officials?

ADD AS NECESSARY: This categorisation covers occupations where main tasks consist of direction and co-ordination of organisations and businesses. This can include the management of internal departments / sections.

ADD AS NECESSARY: Staff should be categorised according to their primary role, i.e. the one that takes up the greatest proportion of their time.

(Note: this excludes supervisors) (Note: if police force this covers inspectors and above)

WRITE IN NUMBER \_\_\_\_ [RESPONSE MUST NOT EXCEED A1]

CATI CHECK AFTER D5: IF NUMBER OF STAFF EMPLOYED AT A1 IS GREATER THAN 50 AND RESPONDENTS SAYS NO MANAGERS EMPLOYED AT D5

D5chka Can I just check, I've recorded that there are no managers employed at this site – is this correct?

| Yes | 1 | CONTINUE | |-----|---|----------| | No | 2 | GO BACK TO D5 AND RECODE (INTERVIEWER NOTE: TO CHANGE NUMBER OF STAFF USE '\<A1') |

D5-D8

These questions seek to establish the occupational breakdown of the establishment’s workforce into 9 categories. This can be quite a complicated section of the questionnaire and it will make it much easier if you take some time to familiarise yourself with the 9 categories and the types of job roles that belong in each.

The names of the 9 occupational categories will probably not be familiar to the respondent, so it is important to read out the text which appears on screen which will help the respondent relate the category to their own workforce. The first bit of text gives an explanation of the category, the second bit of text gives examples of job titles that will fall into this category (these are just a guide, not all job titles are covered). Please read all of this out.

We ask first about managers and administrative staff, as these are the categories most easily understood by respondents. We then ask about elementary staff and work ‘up’ to professionals.

The intention is that an individual employee appears in one category only. If an employer has e.g. professionals or skilled trades people operating as managers or as sales people etc. then employees should be categorised according to the function which occupies the largest part of their time.

Logic checks at the end of D8 will make sure the number sums to that at A1 – if it does not, you will be taken back to D5 to ask the set of questions again.

ASK IF A1 > D5, OTHERS GO TO D9

D6 And how many – if any – of your \<INSERT NUMBER: A1–D5> staff are employed in administrative or secretarial occupations?

NOTE: STAFF SHOULD BE CATEGORISED ACCORDING TO THEIR PRIMARY ROLE, I.E. THE ONE THAT TAKES UP THE GREATEST PROPORTION OF THEIR TIME

[IF ‘MANUFACTURING’ (SIC ON SAMPLE – 01 to 45) ADD AS NECESSARY: including secretaries, receptionists & PAs, telephonists, book-keepers, credit controllers/wage clerks, assistants/clerks]

[IF ‘SERVICES’ (SIC ON SAMPLE: 50-74 & 93) ADD AS NECESSARY: including secretaries, receptionists & PAs, telephonists and communication operators, market research interviewers, book-keepers, credit controllers/wage clerks, pension and insurance clerks, office assistants, database assistants]

[IF ‘PUBLIC SECTOR’ SIC ON SAMPLE 75-99 excl 93) ADD AS NECESSARY: including secretaries, receptionists & PAs, local government officers and assistants, civil service executive officers, book-keepers, credit controllers/wage clerks, office assistants, library and database assistants]

ADD IF NECESSARY: Administrative and secretarial occupations undertake general admin, clerical, secretarial work and perform a variety of specialist client orientated clerical duties. Generally speaking, all those with ‘clerk’, ‘secretary’ in the job title will fall into this group, including financial clerks and book-keepers.

WRITE IN NUMBER \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ [RESPONSE MUST NOT EXCEED A1 – D5]

ASK IF A1 > D5+D6, OTHERS GO TO D9 EXCEPT IN NI OR SCOTLAND (SEE ROUTING ABOVE D8A)

D7 You’ve told me that a total of [D5+D6] of your [A1] staff are employed as managers or in administrative roles. I’d now like you to tell me what roles the remaining [A1-(D5+D6)] staff fill. I’m going to read you seven different occupational roles, and I’d like you to tell me if any of your remaining [A1-(D5+D6)] staff are employed in each. If staff carry out more than one role, please only include them in their main function.

First, do you employ any staff at this establishment as \<…OCCUPATION…>?

CATI CHECK: NUMBER OF CATEGORIES TO BE NO GREATER THAN NUMBER OF STAFF EMPLOYED NOT IN MANAGEMENT / ADMINISTRATIVE ROLES (i.e. A1 – (D5 + D6))

FOR EACH OCCUPATION EMPLOYED (YES AT D7)

D8 How many of your staff at this establishment are employed as …? READ OUT

| D7 | D8 | |----|----| | Yes | No |

### Elementary occupations

Elementary occupations require knowledge and experience necessary to perform mostly routine tasks usually involving use of simple hand held tools and in some cases physical effort. Most do not require formal educational qualifications.

- **Manufacturing** (SIC on sample: 01 to 45): including labourers, packers, goods handling and storage staff, security guards, cleaners
- **Services** (SIC on sample: 50-74 & 93): including bar staff, shelf fillers, kitchen/catering assistants, waitresses, postal workers, cleaners, dry cleaners, goods handling and storage staff, security guards
- **Public Sector** (SIC on sample: 75-99 excl 93): including labourers, cleaners, road sweepers, traffic wardens, security guards

### Process, plant and machine operatives

Process, plant and machine operative occupations require knowledge and experience to operate vehicles and other mobile and stationary machinery, and monitor industrial and plant equipment, or to assemble products. Most will not have a particular standard of education but will usually have formal experience related training.

- All transport and mobile machine drivers belong in this group.
- Including plant and machine operators plus routine operatives (sorters, assemblers) and HGV, van, fork lift, bus, taxi drivers

### Sales and customer service occupations

Sales and customer services occupations require knowledge and experience necessary to sell goods and services, accept payment and replenish stocks, provide information to potential clients and additional services to customers after the point of sale.

- Including sales assistants and retail cashiers, telesales, call centre agents, customer care occupations
- Buying and purchasing officers, sales representatives, estate agents or auctioneers SHOULD NOT be included in this group. These should be categorised as ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONS.

### Caring, Leisure and Other Service Occupations

Caring, Leisure and Other Service Occupations involve the provision of service to customers whether in a public protective or personal care capacity. Main tasks usually involve the care of the sick, elderly and children and the provision travel care and hygiene services. These job-roles generally require a good standard of general education.

- **[IF ‘MANUFACTURING’ (SIC ON SAMPLE – 01 to 45) ADD AS NECESSARY: including such occupations as care assistants, nursery nurses.]**
- **[IF ‘SERVICES’ (SIC ON SAMPLE: 50-74 & 93) ADD AS NECESSARY: including travel agents, travel assistants, sport and leisure assistants, hairdressers and beauticians, nursery nurses/childminders, housekeepers]**
- **[IF ‘PUBLIC SECTOR’ SIC ON SAMPLE 75-99 excl 93) ADD AS NECESSARY: including care assistants and home carers, nursery nurses/childminders, ambulance staff, pest control officers, dental/veterinary nurses, caretakers, sport and leisure assistants]**

**IF ‘HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (SIC ON SAMPLE: 85)’ ADD AS NECESSARY:** Occupations with high level vocational qualifications such as nurses, midwives, paramedics, physiotherapists, youth workers and welfare officers SHOULD NOT be included in this group. They are categorised as ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONS.

### Skilled trades occupations

Skilled trades occupations require a substantial period of training. Main tasks involve the performance of complex physical duties that normally involve initiative, manual dexterity and other practical skills.

- **ADD AS NECESSARY: including farmers, electricians, motor mechanics, machine setters/tool makers, TV engineers, plumbers, carpenters, plasterers, printers, chefs, butchers, furniture makers**

**ADD AS NECESSARY: Science and engineering technicians SHOULD NOT be included in this group. They are categorised as ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONS.**

### Associate professional and technical occupations

ADD IF NECESSARY: Occupations in this group will usually require an associated high level vocational qualification, often involving substantial period of full time training or further study. Main tasks require experience and knowledge to assist in supporting professionals or managers.

[IF ‘MANUFACTURING’ (SIC ON SAMPLE – 01 to 45) ADD AS NECESSARY: including science and engineering technicians, lab technicians, IT technicians, accounting technicians.]

[IF ‘SERVICES’ (SIC ON SAMPLE: 50-74 & 93) ADD AS NECESSARY: including insurance underwriters, finance and investment analysts and advisers, writers/journalists, buyers, sales reps, estate agents, pilots, graphic designers, fitness instructors.]

[IF ‘PUBLIC SECTOR’ SIC ON SAMPLE 75-99 excl 93) ADD AS NECESSARY: including junior police/fire/prison officers, therapists, paramedics, community workers, careers advisors, health and safety officers, housing officers, writers/journalists, fitness instructors]

ADD IF NECESSARY: Most professionals in the arts, design, media or sports fields will be in this group

ADD IF NECESSARY: Architects, surveyors, engineers, chartered accountants and management consultants SHOULD NOT be included in this group. They should be categorised as PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONS.

### Professional occupations

ADD IF NECESSARY: Professional occupations will almost always require a degree or equivalent formal qualification. Some occupations will require postgraduate qualifications and/or a formal period of experience-related training. This categorisation includes high-level occupations in the natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, social sciences, humanities and related fields where job-holders will either be

- practically applying extensive theoretical knowledge;
- increasing the stock of knowledge through research;
- communicating knowledge by teaching

[IF ‘MANUFACTURING’ (SIC ON SAMPLE – 01 to 45) ADD AS NECESSARY: including professional engineers, software and IT professionals, accountants, chemists and scientific researchers]

[IF ‘SERVICES’ (SIC ON SAMPLE: 50-74 & 93) ADD AS NECESSARY: including solicitors and lawyers, accountants, IT professionals, economists, architects, actuaries, doctors, engineers]

[IF ‘PUBLIC SECTOR’ SIC ON SAMPLE 75-99 excl 93) ADD AS NECESSARY: including doctors, nurses, midwives, psychologists, teachers, social workers, librarians, accountants, economists, IT professionals, engineers] ASK IF SCOTLAND/NORTHERN IRELAND AND WORKING PROPRIETORS AT SITE (A9A>0) AND MORE THAN ONE OCCUPATION SELECTED FROM D5-D7. OTHERS GO TO D9

D8A) You mentioned earlier that there are [INSERT NUMBER FROM A9A] people who work at this site and own all or part of the organisation. How many of these are working as/in…?

CATI – SHOW ALL OCCUPATIONS EMPLOYED AT D5-D7

| D8A | | |------------------------------------------|----------| | Managers, Directors and senior officials | (0 – RESPONSE AT D5) | | Professional occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_7) | | Associate professional and technical occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_6) | | Administrative and secretarial occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D6) | | Skilled trades occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_5) | | Caring, Leisure and Other Service Occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_4) | | Sales and customer service occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_3) | | Process, plant and machine operatives | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_2) | | Elementary occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_1) |

CHECK SUM OF D8A=A9A – IF NOT RE-ASK D8A

SAY TO ALL: Thinking about the broad categories of employees, for each, I'd like to know how many you think are fully proficient at their job. A proficient employee is someone who is able to do the job to the required level.

[ADD IF SCOTLAND/NORTHERN IRELAND AND WORKING PROPRIETORS AT SITE (COUNTRY=3 OR 2 AND A9A>0): Please include people who work at the site and own all or part of the organisation]

ASK ALL, ASKING FOR EACH OCCUPATION WITH STAFF AT D5 / D6 / D7

D9

Back to thinking about ALL people working at your establishment, how many of your [INSERT NUMBER FROM D5 / D6 / D8] existing staff working in [OCCUPATION] would you regard as fully proficient at their job?

CATI – SHOW NUMERIC BREAKDOWN FROM D8 TO HELP RESPONDENTS ANSWER D9.

CATI – ANSWER AT D9 MUST BE BETWEEN 0 AND D5, D6 or D8 RESPONSE FOR SAME OCCUPATION.

| D9 | | |------------------------------------------|----------| | Managers, Directors and senior officials | (0 – RESPONSE AT D5) | | Professional occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_7) | | Associate professional and technical occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_6) | | Administrative and secretarial occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D6) | | Skilled trades occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_5) | | Caring, Leisure and Other Service Occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_4) | | Sales and customer service occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_3) | | Process, plant and machine operatives | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_2) | | Elementary occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D8_1) | This question is asked of Scotland and NI and establishes the occupations of any working proprietors on site.

Whilst these are quite likely to be managers, it is by no means a given (e.g. a law partnership, the partners’ primary role will be as a lawyer i.e. a professional occupation.

For those who have just been asked about the occupations of their working proprietors, it will be important here to make sure they know we’re now talking about everyone again.

Respondents are asked how many of each category of staff are fully proficient in their current job. They need to give their answers in numbers. The CATI will show the total number of staff in each category to help respondents answer this.

This question determines whether an establishment has any skills gaps – a key ESS measure – so it essential that this question is read out in its entirety to each respondent.

Please make sure that all of the text before and in D9 is read out in full. If respondents are confused as to what is meant by staff who are not fully proficient, just repeat “A proficient employee is someone who is able to do the job to the required level” Do not give them any other definition. If they are still confused ask them to answer their question with their own definition of proficiency.

Could I just check, are any of these individuals who are not fully proficient in their jobs either owners or part-owners of the organisation?

| | | |---|---| | Yes | 1 CONTINUE | | No | 2 GO TO D10 | IF D9A=1

D9B

And how many owners / part-owners who are not fully proficient are working as/in...?

CATI – SHOW ALL OCCUPATIONS WITH WORKING PROPRIETORS AT D8A AND SKILLS GAPS AT D9

CATI – DO NOT ASK FOR OCCUPATION IF A9A=1 AND D9A=1

| D8A | |------------------------------------------| | Managers, Directors and senior officials | (0 – RESPONSE AT D9_1) | | Professional occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D9_2) | | Associate professional and technical occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D9_3) | | Administrative and secretarial occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D9_4) | | Skilled trades occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D9_5) | | Caring, Leisure and Other Service Occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D9_6) | | Sales and customer service occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D9_7) | | Process, plant and machine operatives | (0 – RESPONSE AT D9_8) | | Elementary occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT D9_9) |

CATI – CHECK THAT THE SUM OF D9B OCCUPATIONS < A9A. IF NOT, RE-ASK D9B

D9A

Back to asking Scotland and NI about their working proprietors – this question will determine whether any are not proficient and at D9B if necessary it will confirm what occupation these are in.

ASK ALL WITH SKILLS GAPS (D9DUM3=1), OTHERS GO TO D15

NORTHERN IRELAND: ASK D10 AND D11 FOR ALL OCCUPATIONS WITH SKILLS GAPS

ENGLAND/SCOTLAND/WALES: ASK D10 AND D11 OF UP TO 2 OCCUPATIONS WITH SKILLS GAPS (CHOSEN AT RANDOM AT D9DUM2)

D10 [TEXT SUBSTITUTION IF (COUNTRY=1, 3 OR 4) AND >2 OCCUPATION AT D9 NOT PROFICIENT: I want to ask about two of the categories where you say not all staff are proficient.]

What are the main causes of some of your <OCCUPATION> not being fully proficient in their jobs...? READ OUT. RANDOMISE ORDER OF 1-10. CODE ALL THAT APPLY.

| The development of new products and services | 1 | | The introduction of new working practices | 2 | | The introduction of new technology | 3 | | They are new to the role – IF NECESSARY ADD either because they have recently started the job or have recently been promoted to a higher level role | 4 | | They have not received the appropriate training | 5 | | Their training is currently only partially completed | 6 | They have been on training but their performance has not improved sufficiently | 7 Unable to recruit staff with the required skills | 8 Problems retaining staff | 9 Staff lack motivation | 10 Are there any other reasons? (SPECIFY) | 11 DO NOT READ OUT: No particular cause (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 12 DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | X

**D10-D11** These Qs are asked of up to two categories of staff mentioned at D2 as not being fully proficient. The CATI will randomly select two occupations mentioned at D2. (In NI it will be asked of all categories of staff).

ASK OF THE SAME OCCUPATIONS AS D10

D11 Thinking about your <OCCUPATION> who are not fully proficient which, if any, of the following skills do you feel need improving...? READ OUT; CODE ALL THAT APPLY

CATI – ROTATE ORDER OF SKILLS (APART FROM IT SKILLS WHICH MUST ALWAYS APPEAR TOGETHER WITH “GENERAL IT USER SKILLS” FIRST, FOLLOWED BY “IT PROFESSIONAL SKILLS”, “TECHNICAL & PRACTICAL SKILLS”, “ANY OTHER SKILLS”, “NONE” & “DON’T KNOW” MUST ALWAYS APPEAR LAST).

| Skill | Occ 1 | Occ 2 | |--------------------------------------------|-------|-------| | Basic computer literacy / using IT | 1 | 1 | | Advanced IT or software skills | 2 | 2 | | Oral communication skills | 3 | 3 | | Written communication skills | 4 | 4 | | Customer handling skills | 5 | 5 | | Team working skills | 6 | 6 | | WL: Written Welsh language skills | 7 | 7 | | WL: Oral Welsh language skills | 8 | 8 | | Foreign language skills | 9 | 9 | | Problem solving skills | 10 | 10 | | Planning and organising skills | 11 | 11 | | Strategic management skills | 12 | 12 | | Numeracy skills | 13 | 13 | | Literacy skills | 14 | 14 | D11 Read out list.

Code 16-17, Technical or practical / job-specific skills, will vary according to the respondent’s industry but will be any skills that is specific to a particular role.

If a respondent says that numeracy skills, code 13, are not a problem but state that staff can’t count, or are bad with numbers. Code this here. Likewise if a respondent talks about staff not being able to read / write, code this into literacy skills at code 14.

ASK ALL WITH SKILL GAPS

D12 Thinking about your establishment as a whole, does the fact that some of your staff are not fully proficient have an impact on how your establishment performs? READ OUT

| Yes – major impact | 1 | ASK D13 | |--------------------|---|---------| | Yes – minor impact | 2 | | | No | 3 | TO D14 |

ASK IF HAD IMPACT (D12=1 OR 2)

D13 Is the fact that some of your staff are not fully proficient causing this establishment to...? READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY. ROTATE ANSWER LIST.

| Lose business or orders to competitors | 1 | | Delay developing new products or services | 2 | | Have difficulties meeting quality standards | 3 | | Increase operating costs | 4 | | Have difficulties introducing new working practices | 5 | | Increase workload for other staff | 6 | | Outsource work | 7 | | DO NOT READ OUT: No particular problems / None of the above (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 8 | ASK ALL WITH SKILL GAPS

D13A Have you taken any steps to improve the proficiency or skills of these staff, or do you have any plans to do so? READ OUT

| Yes | 1 | ASK D14 | |-----|---|---------| | No – but have plans to | 2 | | | No | 3 | GO TO D15 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know | 4 | |

D13

Read out list – codes will appear in a different order each time.

ASK IF HAVE TAKEN ACTION (D13A=1)

D14 Which if any of the following steps is this establishment taking to overcome the fact that some of its staff are not fully proficient in their job? READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY.

| Increase training activity / spend or increase/expand trainee programmes | 1 | | Reallocating work | 2 | | Increase recruitment activity / spend | 3 | | More staff appraisals / performance reviews | 4 | | Implementation of mentoring / buddying scheme | 5 | | More supervision of staff | 6 | | Recruiting workers who are non-UK nationals | 7 | | Changing working practices | 8 | | Any other action? (WRITE IN) | 9 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Nothing (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 10 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | X |

ASK IF ANY STAFF FULLY PROFICIENT (SUM(D9)>0)

D15 You said that you have [SUM(D9)] staff who are FULLY proficient at their job. Of these, how many would you say have BOTH qualifications AND skills that are more advanced than required for their current job role?

ENTER NUMBER VALID RANGE = 0 TO (SUM(D9)) ALLOW DON’T KNOW

D14

Read out list.

D15 This question measures whether they have any staff who have more skills than are necessary for the job. This should be based on whether they have BOTH skills AND qualifications relevant to their current job which are more than are required for their current job.

E THERE IS NO SECTION E F Workforce development

ASK ALL

F1 Does your establishment have any of the following...?

INTERVIEWER NOTES:

A IF RESPONDENT INDICATES THAT ESTABLISHMENT IS COVERED BY A COMPANY WIDE [SHOW CODE RELEVANT FOR EACH ITERATION: TRAINING PLAN / TRAINING BUDGET] CODE AS ‘YES’

B CODE AS ‘NO’ IF IN PROCESS OF DRAWING UP FIRST [SHOW CODE RELEVANT FOR EACH ITERATION: TRAINING PLAN / TRAINING BUDGET]

C CODE AS ‘YES’ IF CURRENTLY HAVE [SHOW CODE RELEVANT FOR EACH ITERATION: TRAINING PLAN / TRAINING BUDGET] BUT IN PROCESS OF DRAWING UP NEW ONE.

| Yes | No | Don’t know | |-----|----|------------| | A training plan that specifies in advance the level and type of training your employees will need in the coming year? | 1 | 2 | 3 | | A budget for training expenditure? [IF MULTI-SITE AND NOT HQ (A2=2 AND A4≠5): which specifically covers training spend for this site] | 1 | 2 | 3 |

ASK MODULE 1 AND SCOTLAND (DUMMOD=1 OR COUNTRY=3)

F2 Approximately what proportion of your staff have a formal written job description?

PROMPT AS NECESSARY

| None | 1 | |------|---| | Some but fewer than half | 2 | | Around half | 3 | | More than half but not all | 4 | | All | 5 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know | X |

F3 And approximately what proportion of your staff have an annual performance review?

PROMPT AS NECESSARY

| None | 1 | |------|---| | Some but fewer than half | 2 | | Around half | 3 | | More than half but not all | 4 | | All | 5 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know | X | F1 F1 asks if the establishment has a training plan or a budget for training expenditure. Some notes on what to allow as a response are listed below:

- If the establishment is covered by a company-wide plan / budget code as a yes.
- If updating an existing plan / budget count as a yes
- If drawing up their first plan / budget and not yet in place count as a no

F2 and F3 Prompt as necessary at these questions. Check you are choosing the correct code if they are vague.

ASK ALL

F4 Over the past 12 months have you arranged or funded any off-the-job training or development for employees at this site - by off-the-job training we mean training away from the individual’s immediate work position, whether on your premises or elsewhere.

| Yes | 1 | |-----|---| | No | 2 | | Don’t know | 3 |

F4a And have you arranged or funded any on-the-job or informal training and development over the last 12 months - by this I mean activities that would be recognised as training by the staff, and not the sort of learning by experience which could take place all the time.

| Yes | 1 | |-----|---| | No | 2 | | Don’t know | 3 |

F4DUM CATI VARIABLE: TYPES OF TRAINING

| Provide both off-the-job and on-the-job training | 1 | F4=1 AND F4a=1 | | Provide off-the-job training only | 2 | F4=1 AND (F4a=2 OR 3) | | Provide on-the-job training only | 3 | (F4=2 OR 3) AND F4a=1 | | Provide neither off-the-job nor on-the-job training | 4 | (F4=2 OR 3) AND (F4a=2 OR 3) | **F4 AND F4A**

These questions determine the training status of an establishment and it is very important to read out all of the text as it appears on screen (so each respondent receives a consistent definition of on and off-the-job training).

**IF NO TRAINING ARRANGED IN PAST 12 MONTHS (F4=2 AND F4A=2)**

**F5**

You mentioned that you have not funded or arranged training for any employees at this location over the past 12 months. What are the reasons for this?

PROBE: What other reasons have there been?

DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY

| Reason | Code | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------|------| | No training available in relevant subject area | 1 | | The courses interested in are not available locally | 2 | | The quality of the courses or providers locally is not satisfactory | 3 | | Difficult to get information about the courses available locally | 4 | | I don’t know what provision is available locally | 5 | | The start dates or times of the courses are inconvenient | 6 | | No money available for training | 7 | | External courses are too expensive | 8 | | Managers have lacked the time to organise training | 9 | | Employees are too busy to give training | 10 | | Employees are too busy to undertake training and development | 11 | | Training is not considered to be a priority for the establishment | 12 | | All our staff are fully proficient / no need for training | 13 | | Trained staff will be poached by other employers | 14 | | Other (WRITE IN) | 15 | | No particular reason (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 16 |

ALL WHO HAVE NOT TRAINED (F4DUM=4) NOW SKIP TO F7

**F5**

Do not read out list – familiarise yourself with this list in advance of survey as it will more than likely be split over two screens.

ASK IF PROVIDE TRAINING AT ALL (F4=1 OR F4a=1).

**F6**

Which of the following types of training have you funded or arranged for employees at this establishment over the past year?

READ OUT AND CODE ALL THAT APPLY. ROTATE ANSWER LIST.

| Training Type | Code | |--------------------------------------|------| | Induction training | 1 | | Health & safety/first aid training | 2 | | Job specific training | 3 | | Supervisory training | 4 | |----------------------|---| | Management training | 5 | | Training in new technology | 6 | | Any other types? (please specify) | 7 | | DO NOT READ OUT: None of these (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 8 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | X |

**F7a**

And how much of the training that you have funded or arranged has been for health & safety or induction training? PROBE FOR BEST ESTIMATE

WRITE IN %

IF DON'T KNOW, PROMPT WITH RANGES AS NECESSARY.

| None | 1 | |------|---| | Less than 10% | 2 | | 10% - 19% | 3 | | 20% - 29% | 4 | | 30% - 39% | 5 | | 40% - 49% | 6 | | 50% - 59% | 7 | | 60% - 69% | 8 | | 70% - 79% | 9 | | 80% - 89% | 10 | | 90% - 99% | 11 | | 100% | 12 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know | X |

**F7A**

The respondent should give an answer that is a percentage of total training.

Please probe for a best estimate if they cannot give an exact figure. ASK ALL

F7 And has your establishment done any of the following to aid the development of your employees in the last 12 months?

READ OUT; CODE ALL THAT APPLY

| Supervision to ensure that employees are guided through their job role over time | 1 | | Provided opportunities for staff to spend time learning through watching others perform their job roles | 2 | | Allowed staff to perform tasks that go beyond their strict job role and providing them with feedback as to how well they have done | 3 | | DO NOT READ OUT: None of these (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 4 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don't know (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | X |

ASK IF PROVIDE TRAINING AT ALL (F4=1 OR F4A=1), OTHERS GO TO F16

F8 [IF BOTH ON AND OFF-THE-JOB (F4DUM=1): Thinking about both on- and off-the-job training.] Over the last 12 months how many staff employed at this establishment have you funded or arranged training and development for, including any who have since left?

IF SAY "ALL STAFF", SAY: So including any staff who have since left, how many staff would that be?

WRITE IN \_\_\_\_ (1 – 99999) \_\_\_\_

F8RAN PROMPT WITH RANGE IF DON'T KNOW

| 1-2 | 1 | | 3-4 | 2 | | 5-9 | 3 | | 10-19 | 4 | | 20-29 | 5 | | 30-39 | 6 | | 40-49 | 7 | | 50-99 | 8 | | 100-199 | 9 | | 200 or more | 10 | | (DO NOT READ OUT) Don't know | X |

IF F8 > (A1 x 2) ASK:

F8CHK You said you currently have <INSERT VALUE FROM A1> employees but you have trained <F9 FIGURE> staff in the past 12 months, is this correct?

| Yes | 1 | GO TO F9 | F8 It is possible that they will have trained more staff than they currently have, for example if they have had staff who they have trained but who have since left. For this reason, if they say “all staff” you need to prompt them with “so including any staff who have since left, how many staff would that be?”

If the number of staff trained is more than double the current number employed there is a quick question to double check this is correct.

IF PROVIDE TRAINING AT ALL (F4=1 OR F4A=1) F9 Over the last 12 months which occupations have you funded or arranged training for [F4DUM=1: , whether on- or off-the-job]?

PROMPT AS NECESSARY

CATI – SHOW ALL OCCUPATIONS MENTIONED AT D5-D7, PLUS (AS LONG AS NOT ALL 9 CATEGORIES ANSWERED YES AT D5 –D7) ‘ANY OTHER OCCUPATIONS’

ASK IF MORE THAN ONE OCCUPATION MENTIONED AT F9 F10 You said you had funded or arranged training for <F9 FIGURE OR F9RAN RANGE> staff in the last 12 months, including any who have since left. How many of these were <READ OUT IN TURN EACH ANSWER FROM F9> ...

SCREEN TO SHOW THE FIGURE OR RANGE FROM F8 AND COUNTDOWN AFTER EACH F10 ANSWER.

TOTAL OF F10 MUST EQUAL F8 (OR BE WITHIN BAND IF ANSWERED F8RAN) – IF NOT CHECK IF TOTAL TRAINED FIGURE WRONG (IF SO SNAP BACK TO F8 OR F8RAN) OR AMEND F10 ANSWERS.

| F9 | F10 | |----|-----| | Managers, Directors and senior officials | 1 | WRITE IN NUMBER\_\_\_\_\_ | | Professional occupations | 2 | WRITE IN NUMBER\_\_\_\_\_ | | Associate professional and technical occupations | 3 | WRITE IN NUMBER\_\_\_\_\_ | | Administrative and secretarial occupations | 4 | WRITE IN NUMBER\_\_\_\_\_ | | Skilled trades occupations | 5 | WRITE IN NUMBER\_\_\_\_\_ | | Caring, Leisure and Other Service Occupations | 6 | WRITE IN NUMBER\_\_\_\_\_ | | Sales and customer service occupations | 7 | WRITE IN NUMBER\_\_\_\_\_ | | Process, plant and machine operatives | 8 | WRITE IN NUMBER\_\_\_\_\_ | | Elementary occupations | 9 | WRITE IN NUMBER\_\_\_\_\_ | | Any other occupations (WRITE IN) | 10 | WRITE IN NUMBER\_\_\_\_\_ |

Calculate sum SUM F10 These questions ask which of the 9 occupational categories have received training in the last 12 months.

The occupational categories that the respondent has said they employ staff in section D will be shown by the CATI. It may be that a respondent has trained staff in an occupational category that they no longer employ any staff in. If this is the case please code ‘any other occupations’.

Once the respondent has indicated which of the 9 occupational categories they have provided training for, they are asked to say roughly how many staff in each occupational category they have trained. The CATI will allow them to give a higher number than the amount of staff in each category they already employ, because some staff who had received training may have also left in the last 12 months.

If the answers they give here do not add up to the total staff they said they trained earlier then CATI will ask you to check which answer is wrong – the total figure or the breakdown. You will need to then re-enter the one identified as wrong.

IF SUM F10 DOES NOT EQUAL F8 (OR IS GREATER THAN TOP OF F8RAN BAND OR LESS THAN THE BOTTOM OF F8RAN BAND) ASK:

F10chk You said that in the last 12 months that you trained <F8> staff, but the sum of the occupations that you have trained total <F10SUM>. Do you wish to amend the overall figure or the number within each occupation?

| Total figure | 1 | RE-ASK F8 | |--------------|---|-----------| | Occupational figure | 2 | RE-ASK F10 |

ASK IF SCOTLAND/NORTHERN IRELAND AND WORKING PROPRIETORS AT SITE (COUNTRY=3 OR 2 AND A9A>0), OTHERS CHECK ROUTING ABOVE F11

F10A Could I just check, are any of the individuals who have received training in the last 12 months either owners or part-owners of the organisation?

| Yes | 1 | CONTINUE | | No | 2 | GO TO F11 |

IF F10A=1

F10B And how many of the owners / part-owners who have received training are working as/in…?

CATI – SHOW ALL OCCUPATIONS WITH WORKING PROPRIETORS AT D8A AND PEOPLE TRAINED AT F10

CATI – DO NOT ASK FOR OCCUPATION IF A9A=1

| D8A | |-----| | Managers, Directors and senior officials\] | (0 – RESPONSE AT F10_1) | | Professional occupations | (0 – RESPONSE AT F10_2) | F10A-B These questions check, in Scotland and NI only, how many of those trained are working proprietors.

IF PROVIDE TRAINING AT ALL (F4=1 OR F4A=1) F11 And, over the last 12 months, on average, how many days training and development [F4DUM=1: whether on- or off-the-job,] have you arranged for EACH MEMBER OF STAFF receiving training?

NOTE TO INTERVIEWER: If respondent says ‘a week’ or ‘two weeks’ etc check: So how many WORKING days is that? INTERVIEW NOTE: For “less than a day” please code “Don’t know” and record on next screen WRITE IN ABSOLUTE NUMBER ______(1-260)______\_

F11RAN: IF DON’T KNOW AT F11, PROMPT WITH RANGES

| Less than a day | 1 | |-----------------|---| | 1 day | 2 | | 2 days | 3 | | 3 – 4 days | 4 | | 5 – 6 days | 5 | | 7 – 8 days | 6 | | 9 – 10 days | 7 | | 11 – 12 days | 8 | | 13 – 14 days | 9 | | 15 – 16 days | 10| | 17 – 18 days | 11| | 19 – 20 days | 12| | More than 20 days | 13 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know | X |

F11 We are looking for an average number of days here amongst all those that have received any training, i.e. those members of staff not receiving training should not be included.

Please make sure the respondent is answering thinking about working days; if they say ‘a week’ in most cases this will mean 5 days; please confirm this with the respondent.

Answers are average per member of staff, not total across all staff. Be prepared to help them work out the average if needs be. Can I just check that, on average, EACH MEMBER OF STAFF receiving training and development has received [INSERT ANSWER FROM F12 IF GAVE ABSOLUTE FIGURE OR "more than 20" IF CODE 12 ON DON'T KNOW RANGE] days training over the last 12 months?

| Yes | 1 | GO TO F12 | |-----|---|-----------| | No | 2 | RE-ASK F11 |

Does your establishment formally assess whether the training and development received by an employee has an impact on their performance?

| Yes | 1 | |-----|---| | No | 2 | | Don't know | X |

Thinking now about qualifications, how many of the \<F8 integer / band> people that you have funded or arranged training for [TEXT SUBSTITUTION IF BOTH ON AND OFF THE JOB: whether on- or off-the-job,] over the past 12 months are or were being trained towards a nationally recognised qualification?

WRITE IN \_\_\_\_ (0 – F8 INTEGER / TOP OF F8 BAND) \_\_\_\_

PROMPT WITH RANGE IF DON'T KNOW

| None | 1 | |------|---| | 1-2 | 2 | | 3-4 | 3 | | 5-9 | 4 | | 10-19| 5 | | 20-29| 6 | | 30-39| 7 | | 40-49| 8 | | 50-99| 9 | | 100-199| 10 | | 200 or more | 11 | | (DO NOT READ OUT) Don't know | X |

CATI CHECK – ANSWER GIVEN AT F12 SHOULD NOT BE GREATER THAN ANSWER GIVEN AT F8 (INTEGER OR TOP OF RANGE IF ANSWERED BANDED VERSION).

The question here is whether they FORMALLY assess – formally i.e. it is written policy or records are kept. **F12**

This asks about the number of staff that have been training towards a nationally recognised qualification. It is asked of all who have trained either on or off the job.

**ASK IF TRAINING TOWARDS A NATIONALLY RECOGNISED QUALIFICATION (F12>0 or bands 2-11). OTHERS CHECK F15.**

**F13**\
[IF F12=1: Is or was this member of, IF F12>1: Are or were any of these] staff being trained towards any of the following types of qualification in the last 12 months ...READ OUT?

**F14**\
And of those [TEXT SUBSTITUTION: insert number from F12] people being trained towards qualifications, approximately how many were being trained towards <INSERT EACH YES FROM F13>?

**READ OUT.**

| F13 | F14 | |-----|-----| | Yes | No | Don't know | Number | Don't know | | 1 | 2 | 3 | (1-F12) | X | | 1 | 2 | 3 | (1-F12) | X | | 1 | 2 | 3 | (1-F12) | X | | 1 | 2 | 3 | (1-F12) | X |

**ASK ALL**

**F16**\
Is your establishment currently accredited with the Investors in People Standard?

| Yes | 1 | |-----|---| | No | 2 |

DO NOT READ OUT - Don’t know\
X

**F13-14**

These questions will be asked to those who have trained some staff towards a nationally recognised qualification. Read out the list of qualifications and code if any staff have been trained towards them or qualifications at the same level. Not all employers will be aware of the level of a qualification without help so please read the question out in full with the examples of qualifications given.

Note that in Scotland the examples also contain the reference in brackets that the levels can be known as different numbers (e.g. Level 1 in UK can also be Level 4 in Scotland, depending on what framework is used). Use the system the respondent is most comfortable with, but either way it is very important to read the examples in full.

**F14** asks how many people were being trained towards these qualifications. Probe for a best guess if the respondent isn’t sure.

## G Skills utilisation / High performance working

ASK SECTION G TO MODULE 1 AND SCOTLAND ONLY (DUMMOD=1 OR COUNTRY=3)

### G1 Does your establishment...

| Question | YES | NO | DK | n/a | |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----|----|----|-----| | Give employees information about the financial position of the establishment | 1 | 2 | X | Y | | IF A1>9 Create teams of people, who don’t usually work together, to work on a specific project | 1 | 2 | X | Y | | IF A1>9 Have teams of people that solve specific problems or discuss aspects of work performance? These are sometimes known as “problem solving groups” or “continuous improvement groups” | 1 | 2 | X | Y | | Have an equal opportunities policy | 1 | 2 | X | Y | | Have formal procedures in place for employee consultation (such as a staff association, employee forum or trade union consultation) | 1 | 2 | X | Y | | Currently hold any of the ISO 9000 Standards | 1 | 2 | X | Y |

### G2 Do you have processes in place to allow you to identify “high potential” or talented individuals within your establishment?

| Option | Code | |-------------------------------|------| | Yes – formally documented | 1 | | Yes - informal | 2 | | No | 3 | | Don’t know | X |

### G3 Is there a formal procedure for dealing with discipline and dismissals (other than redundancies) for non-managerial employees?

| Option | Code | |-------------------------------|------| | Yes | 1 | | No | 2 | | Don’t know | X | Note that measures in section G might apply to the whole organisation rather than just the establishment – this is fine.

ASK IF MULTISITE OR HAS 10 OR MORE EMPLOYEES (A3=2 OR A1>9)

G4 Which of the following methods do you use to communicate or share information in this workplace? READ OUT; CODE ALL THAT APPLY

| Method | Code | |---------------------------------------------|------| | Annual staff surveys | 1 | | Formal staff suggestion schemes | 2 | | Scheduled team meetings | 3 | | Intranet | 4 | | Newsletters | 5 | | Any other ways (write in) | 6 | | DO NOT READ OUT: None of the above (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 7 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know (ALLOW SINGLE CODE ONLY) | 8 |

G5 To what extent would you say employees at your establishment...READ OUT FOR EACH, CODE ONE ONLY

| Feature | To a large extent | To some extent | Not much | Not at all | DK | |----------------------------------------------|-------------------|----------------|----------|------------|----| | Have variety in their work | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | X | | Have discretion over how they do their work | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | X | | Have access to flexible working | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | X | H Business strategy and structure

ASK ALL

H1 I’d now like to ask you a few questions about how the products or services that are provided by this establishment compare to those provided by others in your industry, including those based in other countries.

A) First, which of the following best describes the establishment’s goods or services...? READ OUT, CODE ONE ONLY

| Description | Code | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|------| | They are a standard range of goods or services | 1 | | There are minor differences in goods or services according to customer requirements | 2 | | There are substantial differences in goods or services according to customer requirements | 3 | | DO NOT READ OUT Don’t know | 4 |

Now, on a scale of 1 to 5, where would you place this establishment if...

ASK PRIVATE SECTOR ONLY (ASK A8=1)

B) one indicates that, compared to others in your industry, the competitive success of your establishment’s products or services is wholly dependent on price and five that success does not depend at all on price

| Scale | Code | |-------|------| | Wholly price dependent | 1 | | | 2 | | | 3 | | | 4 | | | 5 | | DK | |

ASK ALL EXCEPT PUBLIC SECTOR (IF A8=1,2 OR 5)

C) one indicates that, compared to others in your industry, this establishment very rarely leads the way in terms of developing new products, services or techniques, and five that you often lead the way

| Scale | Code | |-------|------| | Very rarely lead the way | 1 | | | 2 | | | 3 | | | 4 | | | 5 | | DK | |

H1 looks at the type of market the organisation operates in.

Respondents are asked to identify the location of their organisation on a scale from 1 to 5 (H1A is semantic, H1B to F use the 1-5 scale). It is very important to stress that these questions are asking the respondent to consider their place on the scale in comparison with other organisations in their industry. This comparison could easily be lost so please stress it. A brief explanation for each question is provided below.

Examples are displayed for your understanding only so you can help respondents if they are struggling, and are not to be read out to respondents. H1A – Aimed at identifying how “customised” the services / goods are. An example of a 1 could be an organisation that produces ‘one-off’ tailor made specialist products to customer orders, e.g. a company that makes suits to order specifically to the customer’s measurements, whereas a 5 could be an organisation which ‘mass-produces’ products without having a single customer in mind e.g. suppliers of suits to Marks and Spencers.

H1B – Asked of the private sector. An example of a 1 could be an organisation that produces a product whose selling point is solely price base e.g. unbranded baked beans, whereas a 5 may be selling a similar product but people buy it due to the brand image/marketing surrounding it e.g. Heinz baked beans.

H1C – Asked of every organisation except those in the public sector. An example of a 1 could be an organisation which is not very innovative and often follows others rather than leading the way themselves e.g. Primark, whereas an example of a 5 could be an organisation which is seen as innovative or ‘trend-setting’ e.g. Prada.

ASK PRIVATE SECTOR ONLY (ASK A8=1)

D) one indicates that this establishment competes in a market for a standard or basic quality product or service, and five that you compete in a market for premium quality products or services.

| Standard or basic | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | DK | Premium quality | |-------------------|---|---|---|---|---|----|----------------|

ASK MODULE 2 ONLY (DUMMOD=2)

E) one indicates that, compared to others in your industry, your IT systems and/or networks are well behind recent technological developments, and a score of five that, compared to others in your industry, you are state of the art.

| Well behind recent developments | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | DK | State of the art | |---------------------------------|---|---|---|---|---|----|-----------------|

ASK MODULE 2 ONLY (DUMMOD=2)

F) one indicates that the way you produce or deliver your products or services is not automated at all, and a score of five that they are highly automated

| Not automated at all | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | DK | Highly automated | |----------------------|---|---|---|---|---|----|-----------------|

H2 THERE IS NO QUESTION H2

ASK ALL

H3 Does your establishment have a business plan that specifies the objectives for the coming year?

INTERVIEWER NOTES:

- IF RESPONDENT INDICATES THAT ESTABLISHMENT IS COVERED BY A COMPANY WIDE BUSINESS PLAN, CODE AS ‘YES’
- CODE AS ‘NO’ IF IN PROCESS OF DRAWING UP FIRST BUSINESS PLAN • CODE AS ‘YES’ IF CURRENTLY HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN BUT IN PROCESS OF DRAWING UP NEW ONE.

| | | |-------|---| | Yes | 1 | | No | 2 | | DO NOT READ OUT: Don't know | X |

**H1D** – Again asked of every organisation except those in the public sector. An example of a 1 could be an organisation offering a ‘no frills’ style product e.g. the car manufacturer Kia, whereas a 5 offers a more premium quality product e.g. Bentley.

**H1E** – asked of all Module 2

**H1F** – Asked of all Module 2 – an example of a 1 might be a store selling handmade furniture, whereas a 5 would be e.g. IKEA where the furniture is made by machines in a factory.

**H3** asks if the establishment has a business plan. Some notes on what to allow as a response are listed below:

- If the establishment is covered by a company-wide plan code as a yes.
- If updating an existing plan count as a yes
- If drawing up their first plan and not yet in place count as a no I Closing questions

ASK ALL

I1 Thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us today. Occasionally it is necessary to call people back to clarify information; may we please call you back if required?

REASSURE IF NECESSARY: Your details will only be used by [COMPANY] to call you back regarding this particular study.

| Yes | 1 | |-----|---| | No | 2 |

I2 If the government and its agencies wish to undertake further work on related issues in the future would it be ok for them or their appointed contractors to contact you on these issues?

| Yes – both client and/or their contractors may recontact | 1 | | Only the client may recontact | 2 | | No | 3 |

IF I2=1 AND TRAIN AT ALL (F4=1 or F4A=1)

I3 We may wish to recontact you in the next few weeks with some follow up questions about training expenditure. This may include sending you some questions on paper which we would collect the answers to over the telephone. Would this be possible?

| Yes | 1 Go to I3B | |-----|-------------| | No | 2 Go to I4 |

ASK IF I3=1

I3B Can you tell me your email address?

INTERVIEWER NOTE: CODE NULL FOR DON'T KNOW / DO NOT HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS

WRITE IN ADDRESS \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ GO TO I3C

NULL/REF GO TO I3D

There is going to be a follow up survey to ESS2011 which will investigate training spend using a data sheet questionnaire which will be faxed or emailed to respondents. Thus we are trying to get permission to recontact those who train.

To do this we need to collect the email address of those who agree to be recontacted. It is very important that you take the email details down accurately. Please read the email address back to the respondent and do not move on to the next question until you are sure you have typed in on screen accurately.

All email addresses should follow the format xx@xx.xx. ASK IF NOT NULL/REF AT I3B I3C I have that as [text sub of email address recorded at I3B] - is that right? INTERVIEWER NOTE: SPELL OUT EMAIL ADDRESS LETTER-BY-LETTER

| Yes | 1 | CONTINUE TO I3D | |-----|---|----------------| | No | 2 | GO TO I3B AND REDO |

ASK ALL I4 I have your postcode as [INSERT FROM SAMPLE] is this correct?

| Yes | 1 | ASK I6 | |-----|---|--------| | No | 2 | RECORD CORRECT POSTCODE |

I5 THERE IS NO QUESTION I5

I6 And can I just confirm the best number to contact you on is [SHOW TELEPHONE NUMBER]?

| Yes | 1 | NEXT QUESTION | |-----|---|---------------| | No | 2 | RECORD CORRECT NUMBER |

ASK ALL I7 Finally, it is sometimes possible to link the data we have collected with other government surveys or datasets to enable further statistical analysis. Would you be happy for this to be done?

ADD IF NECESSARY: Your confidentiality will be maintained, and linked data will be anonymised and only used for statistical purposes by researchers authorised by the Office for National Statistics.

| Yes | 1 | |-----|---| | No | 2 |

CONFIRM NAME, JOB TITLE, TELEPHONE AND EMAIL THANK AND CLOSE

I4 If the postcode we have is not correct please make sure you type the correct one in accurately. Please confirm it with the respondent, making sure you clarify any letters that could be misheard. Regional and local analysis is very important in ESS, and we determine all regional variables from the postcode.

I7 Stick to the exact wording of the question. The aim is to link survey data to other data if possible, to make the data richer. Once linked it will be made anonymous, and use of the linked data is very restricted by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

## Appendix H: Edit specification

### ESS2011 EDIT SPECIFICATION

**Notes**

SIC EDITS 1, 2 and 3 MUST be done first and in order. If any SICs were not valid at EDIT 2, then EDIT 1 and EDIT 2 must be repeated.

A full list of valid SICs, Sector and SSC definitions and valid SOCs can be found in separate sheets in this workbook.

All variable names refer to those in the final data map.

| Edit Label | Objective of edit | Condition | Force/Action | |------------|------------------|-----------|--------------| | EDIT 1 | Define final SSC from SIC given at A7 | If A6 = 2 | Force FINSSC from A7 according to the 'SSC definitions' worksheet (note this has changed since 2009 to use SIC07) | | EDIT 2 | Check that all SICs given at A7 are valid SIC07 codes | If A6 = 2 and FINSSC is blank | Any records where A6=2 and FINSSC is blank will need to have the SIC at A7 validated. Recode where possible, recontact if necessary. Once all SICs at A7 have been validated repeat EDIT 1 and EDIT 2 until there are no records where A6=2 and FINSSC is blank. | | EDIT 3 | If sample SIC was correct, define final SSC from this | If A6 =1 | If A6 is 'yes', force FINSSC to match SSC. | | EDIT 4 | Define final Sector from SIC given at A7 | If A6 = 2 | Force FINSECTOR from A7 according to the 'Sector definitions' worksheet (note this has changed since 2009 to use SIC07) | | EDIT 5 | If sample SIC was correct, define final sector from this | If A6=1 | If A6 is 'yes', force FINSECTOR to match Sector, | | EDIT 6 | To ensure that all SOC codes are valid at B3A (3 DIGITS) | If SOC at B3A is not in full SOC file provided | Recode where possible, recontact if necessary. Coding to 1 or 2 digit SOC is acceptable if there is not sufficient information, although this should only be the case for a small minority of records (i.e. less than 1%). | | EDIT 7 | To ensure that all SOC codes are valid at C7 (4 DIGITS) | If SOC at C7 is not in full SOC file provided | Recode where possible, recontact if necessary. Coding to 1 or 2 digit SOC is acceptable if there is not sufficient information, although this should only be the case for a small minority of records (i.e. less than 1%). | | EDIT 8 | To check that public sector ('local or central government financed body') definition given at A8 is consistent with SIC code | If A8 is '3' or '4' and first two digits of SIC are not '84', '85' or '86' | Each record to be judged on an individual basis by company name and activity. | | EDIT 9 | To check legitimacy of high numbers of employment | If A1 is greater than 1500 | Each record to be judged on an individual basis. Call-backs may be necessary if number of employees seems excessively high for business activity. | | EDIT 10 | To check legitimacy of high numbers of working proprietors | If A1 is greater than 5 and A9A>5 | Each record to be judged on an individual basis. Call-backs may be necessary if number of working proprietors seems excessively high for business activity. | | EDIT 11 | To check legitimacy of high numbers of vacancies in relation to size of establishment | If C6 is more than 5 times greater than A1 if A1 < 5 OR if C6 is more than 3 times greater than A1 if A1 IS BETWEEN 5 AND 49 OR if C6 is more than 1.5 times greater than A1 if A1 ≥ 50 | Call-backs usually necessary to confirm high numbers of vacancies. | | EDIT 12 | To investigate establishments where all employees have been allocated to one occupational group | If only one of D5, D6, D8_1-7 is greater than 0 and A1 is more than 10 | Each record to be judged on an individual basis. Call-backs may be necessary. | | EDIT 13 | To check high values of individual occupational groups | If D5 (managers) is greater than 50 OR If D8_7 (professionals) is greater than 100 OR If D8_6 (associate prof/technical) is greater than 100 OR If D6 (admin/clerical) is greater than 100 OR If D8_5 (skilled trades) is greater than 100 OR If D8_4 (personal service) is greater than 100 OR If D8_3 (sales/customer service) is greater than 100 OR If D8_2 (machine operatives) is greater than 100 OR If D8_1 (elementary) is greater than 100 | Each record to be judged on an individual basis. Call-backs may be necessary. | | EDIT 14 | To ensure that the number of qualifications trained towards in the past 12 months is not unreasonable compared to the number of people who trained towards them | If the sum of F14_1 to F14_4 is more than 1.5 times greater than F12 or the top end of the band at F12ran | Each record to be judged on an individual basis. Call-backs may be necessary. | | EDIT 15 | To check that a respondent has identified a reasonable amount of employees as having a degree level qualification | If D1 is greater than A1 minus Elementary and Process, plant and machine operative staff | Each record to be judged on an individual basis. Call-backs may be necessary. | | EDIT 16 | To check high values of underemployed staff | If D15 is greater than half of the sum of D9 (number of proficient employees) and A1>5 | Each record to be judged on an individual basis. Call-backs may be necessary. | | EDIT 17 | To ensure all postcodes given by respondents are valid | If POSTCODE is ‘2’ | Check that postcode is valid and given in full. Invalid postcodes will need to be investigated as each record must have a full valid postcode in the final data file. LEA then needs to be forced to match valid postcode. REGION then needs to be forced to match final LEA. | A. Off-the-job training or development

This section of the questionnaire covers the costs of providing off-the-job training or development for employees. By off-the-job, we mean all training given away from the individual’s immediate work position. It can be given at your premises or elsewhere.

If you have not provided any off-the-job training in the last 12 months, please go straight to section B, on-the-job training, on the next page.

Training courses

1. Over the past 12 months, how many employees participated in an education or training course, provided either externally or internally?

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ employees

If none, please skip to Q15. Otherwise, please answer Q2 onwards.

2. How many days on average did each of these people spend on an education or training course over the past 12 months?

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ days

3. What is the average basic annual salary of an employee who has been on any of these courses over the past 12 months? [for any part time staff please convert their salaries to full time equivalence when calculating this average]

£\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

4. What was the cost of fees to external providers of training courses for your employees over the past 12 months? Please include the cost of fees to any external providers who ran courses on your premises.

£\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Training centres

5. Do you have a training centre at your location?

☐ Yes please answer Q6

☐ No please skip to Q7

If you have a training centre:

6. How much did your training centre cost to run over the past 12 months? Please split the cost into:

a) Total basic annual salaries of any full time or part time training centre staff

£\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

b) Other costs, including all equipment and materials used and the cost of rent paid for the space the training centre occupies.

£\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

All providing off-the-job training please answer Q7 onwards:

7. How much did you spend on using off-site training centres located elsewhere within your organisation over the past 12 months?

£\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

☐ Did not use off-site training centre

Continued... 14. What was the value of any grants or subsidies that you received over the past 12 months from training organisations such as Sector Skills Councils / Industry Training Boards, Skills Funding Agency, Regional Development Agencies or other government-related sources (including Train to Gain and ESF) to support the cost of training?

£\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Other off-the-job training

Not all off-the-job training is course-based. The following few questions relate to off-the-job training that you may have provided that did not involve employees going on courses.

15. How many employees participated in seminars, workshops, or open or distance learning where the main purpose was training, over the past 12 months?

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ employees

16. How many days on average did each of these spend away from their usual work position whilst engaged in any of these activities?

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ days

17. What is the average basic annual salary of an employee who has taken part in any of these activities over the last 12 months? [for any part time staff please convert their salaries to full time equivalence when calculating this average]

£\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

18. And what was the total cost of fees to external providers of providing this type of off-the-job training over the past 12 months?

£\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ B. On-the-job and informal training & development

This section covers on-the-job and informal training and development. By this we mean activities that would be recognised as training by staff (not the sort of learning by experience that could take place all the time), where this activity takes place at the desk or place where the person receiving the training usually works.

Please focus on a typical month, preferably the last calendar month, but if not a recent more typical month of your choice.

19. How many employees do you estimate receive on-the-job / informal training and development during a typical month? \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ employees

If you do not give any such training, you do not need to answer the rest of the questionnaire.

20. Roughly how many working hours on average do you think each of these employees spends on on-the-job training and development during a typical month? Please think of the actual time spent in instruction or practical experience, excluding any periods of normal work. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ working hours

21. What is the average basic annual salary of your employees who receive on-the-job training and development in a typical month? [for any part time staff please convert their salaries to full time equivalence when calculating this average] £\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

22. How many employees do you estimate will give on-the-job training and development during a typical month? \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ employees

23. Roughly how many working hours on average do you think each of these people spend giving on-the-job training and development during a typical month? \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ working hours

24. What is the average basic annual salary of your employees who give on-the-job training and development in a typical month? [for any part time staff please convert their salaries to full time equivalence when calculating this average] £\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Many thanks for taking the time to help with this research. Please do NOT fax or email your responses to us – we will be calling you in the next few days to collect your answers. Appendix J: Skills Equilibrium follow-up questionnaire

A) You previously indicated that your establishment funded or arranged training for some of the workforce at this site/location in the period from spring 2010 to summer 2011. By “training” we were looking at on-the-job or informal training and development, as well as off-the-job training. Thinking about spring 2010 to summer 2011, if you could have done so, would you have provided more training for your staff than you were able to provide in that period?

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | |-------|---|---|---| | Yes | | | | | No | | | | | Don’t know | | | |

IF YES

B) Were any of the following reasons why your organisation did not provide more training for your staff at this location in that period? Please give one answer per row.

| RANDOMISE ORDER (except the last code always to appear last) | B | C Main barrier | D Second most important | E Third most important | |-------------------------------------------------------------|---|----------------|-------------------------|-----------------------| | The financial cost of training | Yes | No | Don’t know | | | | | Our staff were fully proficient and didn’t need more training | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | We couldn’t spare the time for staff to be undertaking more training | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | | There was a lack of suitable training provision | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | | Staff lacked interest in being trained | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | | We didn’t know enough about what training is available to us | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | | Managers were too busy to arrange training | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | | Were there any other reasons for not providing more training? (IF YES: type in ‘first other reason’; ‘second other reason’ and ‘third other reason’) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 8 | IF MORE THAN ONE YES AT B ASK C (OTHERS THANK AND CLOSE)

C) <Display answers from B> Which one of these was the main reason? (SINGLE CODE: but add codes for ‘all/both equal’ and ‘don’t know’)

IF MORE THAN TWO YES AT B ASK D UNLESS ANSWER AT C = ‘all/both equal’ or ‘don’t know’

D) <Display answers from B EXCLUDING ANSWER AT C> And which one of these was the next most significant reason? (SINGLE CODE: show code ‘don’t know’ but add codes for ‘all/both equal’ and ‘don’t know’)

IF MORE THAN THREE YES AT B ASK E UNLESS ANSWER AT C OR D = ‘all/both equal’ OR ‘don’t know’

E) <Display answers from B EXCLUDING ANSWER AT C AND D> And finally, which one of these was the next most significant reason? (SINGLE CODE: show a ‘don’t know’ code but add codes for ‘all/both equal’ and ‘don’t know’)

THEN “That’s it. Thank you for completing these questions. The survey results will be available on the UKCES website in spring 2012” Appendix K: Reassurance email

REF: [KEY NUMBER]

Employer Skills Survey 2011

Thank you for considering participating in this important project.

The Employer Skills Survey 2011 is being conducted on behalf of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and its partners, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Scottish Government and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland (DELNI). The project is being conducted by IFF Research, an independent market research organisation.

The aim of this project is to help the Government and other institutions meet the skills, employment and business support needs of organisations like yours. Your co-operation will ensure that the views expressed are representative of all employers in your industry.

Your organisation has been selected at random from Experian's National Business Database and we hope very much that you are able to take part. Participation will involve a telephone interview with an IFF interviewer lasting around 25 minutes at a time that is convenient for you.

If you have any queries concerning the format or content of the interview, please contact John Newton or Catherine Riley at IFF Research, tel: 020 7250 3035 or e-mail: john.newton@iffresearch.com or catherine.riley@iffresearch.com. If you would like to speak to somebody at the UK Commission for more information on the aims and objectives of the survey, you can contact Susannah Constable on 020 7881 8933 or on employersurveys@ukces.org.uk.

Your replies will be treated in the strictest confidence under the Code of Conduct of the Market Research Society. Responses will not be linked to individual companies or respondents without their prior consent.

Thank you for your assistance.

Yours sincerely,

John Newton Research Executive IFF Research Evidence Reports present detailed findings of the research produced by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. The reports contribute to the accumulation of knowledge and intelligence on skills and employment issues through the review of existing evidence or through primary research.

All of the outputs of the UK Commission can be accessed on our website at www.ukces.org.uk

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This document is available at www.ukces.org.uk under “Publications”

ISBN 978-1-908418-41-8 © UKCES 1st Ed/12.12